Arctic
by UserIdentify
Summary: Root and Shaw have to go undercover at a research facility in the Arctic, the mission goes smoothly until due to a mistake by Shaw (something Root wont let her live down) they get stuck. They have to maintain their covers as a computer scientist updating systems and security analyst. Due to Root, however, everyone is under the impression they are also a couple.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Root and Shaw have to go undercover at a research facility in the Arctic, the mission goes smoothly enough until due to a mistake by Shaw (something that Root wont let her live down) they get stuck. They then receive the news from Finch that there is no way out for the next two months. To make matters worse, they have to maintain their covers around the other people at the facility. Their covers were initially easy enough as a computer scientist there to update the systems and a security analyst. However, due to Root, everyone is under the impression that they are also a couple.

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Even Root was having a hard time keeping up her usual 'perky psycho' self at the news Finch just gave them. They had been told they would have a small window of time to get in and handle the number but they hadn't realized that would mean two months stuck here. Shaw in a effort to shoot the threat to their number had ended up taking out the last plane in or out of the facility until the harshest storm season had moved through. In her defense she had in the process taken out the threat as well.

"Well Sweetie, if you really wanted me all to yourself all you had to do was ask." Root flirted shamelessly leaning back in the chair at her desk.

" _Root_." Shaw practically growled slamming the laptop shut.

"What else am I supposed to think, I thought you never missed." The hacker said with a hint of annoyance under her usual flirty tone.

Shaw stared at her hard from where she was standing above the other woman, only because they had been chatting with Finch. She wanted to shoot the other woman so bad in that moment she squeezed her hands tightly at her sides. She was wearing a rather utilitarian looking black north face jacket and that somehow added to her normally dark stare. Root however seemed unaffected as she let a small smile slowly grace her lips.

"What are we going to do now?" Shaw seethed out finally.

"Finch says keep our covers, they think we are stranded due to...mechanical issues. We just keep on until we can get out." The taller woman said like it was the easiest thing.

"Which might be fine, except you decided it would be funny to announce that we're a couple when we got here and we are now stuck in this Goddamn room together!" The agent said.

"That, may have been a miscalculation on my part, but I hadn't realized someone would get us stranded here." Root practically hummed rising out of her chair intentionally to highlight their height difference as she looked down at the other woman, something Root knew Shaw hated. Root had that intense yet spacey look for a moment before smiling down.

"I will shoot you and make it look like an accident." Shaw threatened stepping into the other brunettes personal space.

"No time for foreplay right now Sweetie, She has a job for me." Root said practically sauntering to the door.

"What the hell could _She_ possibly want you to do here?" Shaw said sounding almost jealous at the other woman having something to do here.

"She suggests I take a little closer look at our number. A little vague with the connection issues here." Root said tapping toward her ear with a grin.

"Finch already vetted him when we got here." Shaw scowled but obviously was a little interested.

"Guess he missed something." Root said with a shrug before walking out of the room.

Shaw stood for a moment before letting out a painful grunt of anger and stalking after the hacker. If there was going to be any action, she wanted in on it. Root got a very satisfied smirk on her face but wisely chose to stay quiet as the smaller woman came up next to her.

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Shaw appreciated a lot of things about Root, not that she would ever admit it, but the way Root moved was perhaps her favorite thing to note. It was so different from her own movements, Shaw was hard and deliberate in everything that she did. Root was practically a dancer in her movements, they were long and eloquent always in the moment. Well most of the time. There were only two times Shaw had seen the hacker otherwise, when she was first adjusting to her ear and when she slept. When Root slept she was sloppy and almost clumsy.

Root had thought it was hilarious the first night they were there that the very nice coordinator had insisted on giving them a room together. The tall hacker had casually let it slip that she and Shaw had been in a happily committed relationship and how happy she was that they got to work together. Shaw was so pissed when she was made aware of the hackers little ploy at dinner when the overly cheerful coordinator had began to question her about their relationship. When they were shown to their, single, room Shaw was ready to strangle Root but settled for making her sleep on the floor.

Later that night Root woke up Shaw, not once but three times. Root had first rolled into the large rather rickety cot jolting her awake. Second time, she started snoring until Shaw reached down and ungracefully rolled her. The third time, Root rolled into the cot yet again this time making one of the folding legs collapse and the smaller agent go down with it. Through all of this, the taller woman never woke up...until Shaw very purposefully made her. After that night Shaw had very, very reluctantly allowed them to share the supposedly two person cot. That lasted for one night, in which Root drooled on, elbowed in the face and spooned Shaw. On what they had thought would be their final night Shaw let Root have the cot while she curled up under the desk that took up pretty much all other space in the small room. Now that they were going to be stuck for a while longer Shaw was silently plotting how to deal with this.

While Root was busy pretending to work on a computer the number worked at, Shaw was just trying to keep herself awake. She knew if she didn't get a good nights sleep soon she may actually end up killing someone, probably Root. She leaned back in the chair she was in and crossed her arms as she shook her head trying to wake up. Much to her dismay a man named Eugene who was a cosmologist or something decided Shaw looked like she wanted company. Sliding away from his desk he slid his chair next to the one Shaw was sitting in. The man was in his late fifties, balding, with huge glasses, and perhaps the dorkiest pocket protector Shaw had ever seen.

"So stuck here huh? Thats a bummer." He said with a nasally chuckle.

"Seems that way." Shaw said trying to remind herself to keep in character.

"Well could be worse, at least you got your girl with you." Eugene said pushing up his glasses and giving Root a appreciative look over.

"Oh yeah." She said desperately trying to end this little talk.

"So how long you guys been together?" He continued making Shaw have to literally bite her tongue to keep her anger in check.

"Sweetie, can you come here a sec?" Root said coming to her rescue.

"Absolutely." Shaw practically leapt from her seat forcing a smile, which really looked more like a grimace, at Eugene.

"Having a nice chat?" Root asked not even glancing from her computer screen.

"I am having to make small talk with these people Root." Shaw said darkly.

"Well, it seems our number may have had a reason for being given as a relevant. He isn't who he seems to be." Root whispered cryptically as she quickly sent the encrypted files she had found to Finch.

"Then who the hell is he?" Shaw asked curiously leaning in very close to the hacker.

"He is a scientist but before he found his way here he was part of a major terrorist organization. Chemical weaponry, to be specific and lets just say our boy hasn't exactly gotten clear of his old job. He was looking to sell designs to a new biological weapon he designed. I guess being a chemist in the Arctic was just his way of laying low for a while, Adam Johnson our number is actually Adam Ivanov." Root whispered in Shaw's ear.

"So what do we do?" Shaw asked trying to ignore the pang of excitement Root was unfortunately inciting by being so close.

"I sent the information to Harold, they can track any interested parties. We have no choice but to wait while we keep an eye on him." She said closing out of the computer and clearing any evidence she had been on it.

"This would be so much easier if Finch just let me kill him." Shaw breathed out in annoyance.

"Maybe we will at least get to kneecap him." Root reminded her optimistically as she casually breezed out of the chair.

Shaw looked momentarily pleased at the thought as she followed the other woman.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Getting to know your roommate

AN: So I wouldnt say there is a lot of progression in the actual story in this chapter. It is more for further setup as they are having to deal with each other constantly in the others space. The further chapters will begin to unfold more of a actual story and of course more of them getting closer without even realizing it.

Shaw's grunting was getting on Root's nerves, badly. The room they were sharing was very small and Shaw had taken it on herself to still get in her workouts. She had folded up the two person cot in the room and was currently alternating between doing pull ups on a questionable looking pipe overhead and burpees. Normally Root would jump at the occasion to watch the small Persian agent work but after nearing four full days of non stop togetherness time, the mystique was wearing thin. Neither woman was ever much for company, they both could be considered the very definition of lone wolves actually. So sure, it was fun to spend time together (although Shaw would never say so) especially when they were on a mission with some action. This situation however was like the biggest crash course in domestic living ever. Something neither had ever experienced in their life.

"Do you have to do that in here?" Root finally cracked.

"Where else would you have me do it? I am not letting my training go soft because we are stuck in the middle of fucking nowhere." Shaw seethed as she pointedly dropped down to start pushups.

"Well whose fault is that..." Root mumbled passive aggressively, but Shaw heard.

"Not all of us are some sort of freaky cyborg with a robot overlord in our ears, I have to work." The agent said sharply coming into a standing position.

" _She_ is not a robot and do you have to do it so loudly?" The hacker snapped back standing up as well.

"I am loud? All fucking day you are typing away on your computer, constant, clack, clack, clack, and I am annoying you?" Shaw demanded still keeping her voice low.

Root just half scoffed half smiled in annoyance looking up at the ceiling. Shaw stared hard at her feeling her entire body tense in defense. When Root looked back down at her they realized how close they had gotten to one another. Roots eyes glanced down at Shaw's body shamelessly in admiration as she looked back at the generally angry woman. She was still breathing heavily from her workout while wearing her standard black tank top, that combined with her fiery expression easily distracted the hacker.

"Lets not fight, unless its doing something for you?" Root said her face back to its normal cocky smirk.

"Yeah, its pissing me off." Shaw said but it didnt have as much bite as she hoped it would as she recovered from the fact it had indeed been doing something for her.

"Whatever you say Sameen." She said airily before going back to her computer.

Shaw went back to her workout but it was noticeably quieter, a mere coincidence she'd say, while Root went back to typing...also much more discreetly. It was already late however and they would eventually have to figure out sleeping arrangements yet again. Both were trying to avoid bringing it up. This was the first night of being there after being told they were stuck. It made it feel different, they both knew how long they would be stuck and it was keeping both of them hyperaware of the other one. They had already talked to Finch and agreed they were going to break into the numbers room tomorrow but there wasnt much to be done otherwise. Finch and Reese were going to look into any interested parties and figure out who was the biggest threat.

"I am going to go shower." Shaw finally announced finally stopping her routine.

"Ill make up the cot." Root said suggestively more hoping to figure out if she was going to be stuck on the floor.

"I am not sleeping under the desk like a damn dog again...just make sure you stay on your side tonight." Shaw said with as much bite as she could muster before leaving.

"Sure thing Sameen." Root practically gleamed.

Root stood up and folded out the huge cot. The padding on this thing was a joke but it was kind of nice all the same to the hacker to sleep next to someone. The last time she had slept next to another person, well beyond the occasional one night stand, was when she was a kid. Her mom hadnt gotten out of bed in a few days so Root had crawled up onto bed with her and just watched her stare off. It was the only thing a kid new to do to make someone feel better. She quickly put fresh sheets on the bed and changed into a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. With a sigh she climbed onto the bed and moved as far to the right as possible. She felt anxious as she waited for Shaw to return.

"The shower here sucks." Shaw grumbled as she came clamoring back into the room and placing her dirty clothes in a neat pile by her bag.

"Hm they use a recycling system Sameen, what are you expecting?" Root says smirking to herself.

She just let out a grunt and turned off the already dim light before laying down rather stiffly. She was on her back while Root had curled on her side as much as possible. There was barely an inch between them and both were perfectly still.

"Second time I have gotten you into bed." Root said trying to break the ice.

"Hm, go to sleep Root." Shaw said but let herself smile in the dark.

"Ok Sam." Root whispered.

"And dont try any of that spooning shit again." Shaw grumbled tiredly.

Shaw had fallen asleep surprisingly fast after that only to be woken up a few hours later getting kicked from Root. The tall brunette sprung up into sitting position before Shaw even had a chance to retaliate. Almost falling out of bed Shaw twisted so she could reach the little lamp on a single shelf on the wall above them.

"Whats going on?" Shaw grumbled but kept her voice level as she took in the appearance of Root.

"Sorry..." Root breathed out, she was sweaty and teary eyed.

"You look like hell...you ok?" Shaw asked rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Nightmares sometimes." The hacker said almost sheepishly, as they learned yet another thing about one another.

Shaw looked at the other woman awkwardly not sure what to say now. She wasnt really the type to comfort. Root seemed to sense this and slowly scooted down to the end of the cot to climb off. She took a deep breath as she avoided looking at Shaw.

"Sorry I woke you, I am going to go...look around some more on the computers." Root finished weakly before heading for the door.

Shaw sighed but reached out to grab the other woman's wrist. Root stopped with a momentary look of shock at the contact before looking at her is question.

"You arent going out there with creepy biological weaponry guy, just come back to bed." She said gruffly avoiding eye contact.

Root thought about it for a moment before deciding not to push her luck and climbing back onto the bed. This time she just climbed over Shaw who let out a grumble and pushed the hacker almost into the wall. Root let out a breathy laugh as she settled back into her spot. Shaw glared but turned off the light and settled back as well.

"Couldnt sleep without me already." Root teased.

"You just cant help yourself." She groaned.

"Not around you." Root said leaning her head closer to Shaw only to it roughly pushed away by a hand in the face.

Once it was quiet Root tensed up again in the dark, so Shaw ever so discreetly scooted closer so that their arms were touching. It wanst much but Root immediately relaxed at the contact, a small smile gracing her lips. She didnt say anything, knowing not to push her luck.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thanks for the nice reviews and follows! Sorry for any mistakes, I know there are more than a few so if you'll be so kind as to overlook them...

"Look, its like your side of the room." Shaw said flatly as they looked at the mess in the numbers room.

Root just rolled her eyes with a smirk, she couldnt really deny it after all. Shaw was meticulous in everything that she did, including organizing her things. Even her dirty laundry was always neatly folded. Everything was always lined up at the edges, the military background shining through. Root on the other hand wasnt necessarily messy, but she had her own organizational methods. To others it was complete chaos but to Root it made perfect sense. Each style was very suited to the two of them and they way they thought. Root's genius didnt follow a perfect line of logic and was often difficult for others to grasp, but there was no denying the results. Shaw was methodical and ran through the most logical options, also with near perfect results.

"Hello." Root whispered with her slightly manic smile as she noticed a small external drive wedged between two books.

She sat down at his desk and slipped open her lap top to decrypt it. Shaw was rummaging around under his cot where she found a metal locker trunk. Reaching into the side of her boot she slid out a knife and flipped it open to force the lock. Her eyes lit up at the sight before her as a mischievous grin graced her lips.

"Well someone is prepared." She whispered gaining Root's attention who raised her eyebrow at the weaponry in there.

"You cant take any of those." Root warned with her usual adoring look when she was watching Shaw.

"Not yet." The darker haired woman said with a gleam in her eyes as she checked out one of the guns.

Root smirked before going back to her computer, she glanced at a camera feed from one she had slipped into the main research room of the facility. Right now using it to make sure they werent going to get any unexpected visitors. She had the decryption program (that she had designed) running in the background to break into the external drive. It finally finished and she quickly uploaded everything before slip the external drive back to its hiding place. She flipped through the other cameras she had set up out of boredom more than anything else. On a camera placed just near the entrance of the facility something caught Root's eye.

"We have company." She said with curiosity.

"Baxter?" Shaw asked standing up to look over her shoulder.

"Not the number, look at the door." Root explained pointing to the screen where a masked man wearing all white had just broken in.

"How the hell did someone make it out here?" She asked watching intently.

"Lets go find out." Root said in that dreamy tone that made Shaw have to remind herself that she wanted to be annoyed.

Root pulled a gun she had hidden tucked in the back of her pants under her shirt. After dropping her computer into their room, Root followed behind Shaw who was probably over excited about the prospect of some gun play. Root heard a faint message from the machine and paused grabbing Shaw by the arm. She gestured for her to hide at the corner as their new friend was about to round the corner. Root gripped her gun and slid next to a door frame. The gun wasnt even necessary as Shaw swung up punching the guy in the face throwing him off balance. She quickly took a short kidney jab making him double over before finally kneeing him in the head and sending him to the ground where she swiftly kicked him in the head. Root smiled at the satisfied look the other woman got.

"If I didnt know any better Shaw, I would think you have some pent up anger." Root lightly teased making Shaw give her a pointed look.

"Its been a long week." She mumbled looking down at the armed man knocked out cold.

"I can think of some other ways for you to get some release." Root practically purred into Shaw's ear making the smaller agent stiffen, not realizing how close she had gotten.

Shaw nudged her back with her shoulder before giving her a glare. With a shrug she bent down to check the man for any form of ID. She quickly disarmed him of two semi automatic weapons and a knife before finding a photo of their number in his pocket and a cell phone which she promptly handed to Root.

"Where are we going to put him?" Root asked sliding the phone into her pocket.

"Someplace I can do an interrogation." Shaw said standing up.

"Any suggestions?" Root asked to seemingly no one but Shaw was already very familiar with who, or what, she was addressing.

Shaw meanwhile peaked down the hall they had just come from, not that there would be any reason for the others to come down this way. Luckily during the day they were all pretty preoccupied at the other end of the facility where their individual stations were. Shaw looked back at Root and was struck, not for the first time, with the thought of how guarded the other woman was. Not that she herself wasn't, but the persona Root put on was one of many faces she wore. The most popular for the team was the self assured mysterious messenger of puns and messages. Then were the multiple identities she seemed to take up weekly. Shaw thought it seemed exhausting. Sure she kept herself guarded but that was because she had never found anything good to happen from sharing things. Most the time it made people get all clingy and then start to tie feelings to things where she couldnt feel. Otherwise she really didnt give shit what people thought of her. Root though was constantly guarding every part of her personality so no one really knew her, which is why Shaw never thought much about the stupid flirting. Living with the hacker however was giving Shaw a glance at the true Samantha Groves.

"We have to take our friend on a little walk outside." Root said breaking Shaw from her thoughts.

"Um, have you looked outside?" Shaw asked with a annoyed look.

"Trust me." The hacker said with her usual mysterious hum.

Shaw groaned but went along with it. They both grabbed the military grade jackets, gloves and googles hanging by the door. Root quickly suited up and walked over to Shaw who looked even tinier in the huge coat. She lifted the hood for the smaller woman and zipped up the last part of the jacket to cover most of her face. Shaw surprisingly didnt pull away but didnt make eye contact either as she busied herself slipping on her gloves. Root hid a small smile but wisely kept her comments to herself. Once they were suited up they opened the tightly sealed door and began dragging the man out into the blizzard weather. Root took his front as Shaw followed up with his legs, they moved slow but steady as Root guided them to a old shed that the generator was stored in.

In these conditions neither one realized that there was another threat outside. Apparently the intruder hadnt come alone and the only warning was a quiet 'pew' and Root yell out in pain as she doubled forward. A second shot was heard and the unconscious man was lost with a single shot to the head. Shaw immediately dropped the now dead mans legs and dropped down to the ground crawling over to Root who was holding her side in pain. Shaw reached down and grabbed her gun from her waistband. Controlling her breathing she tried to spot the threat but couldnt see a thing in all the snow, and it also occurred to her that the other was probably camouflaged as well. She swore under her breath as she heard Root let out a low groan.

"How bad?" She asked pulling Root closer.

"Through and through, lower right." Root groaned out.

"We need to move, can you make it to the shed?" Shaw asked.

Root nodded gritting her teeth in pain. Shaw grasped her arm tight before pulling her up as both of them ran as fast as possible. Another shot was fired, she felt it buzz by her head but she didnt flinch as they made it to the shed which luckily wasnt far off. Shaw slammed against the door trying to shield Root before getting the door open. They both fell in and Shaw grabbed Root's jacket to drag her further in before staying low and moving to the door. Based on the last shot she had a rough idea of where the shooter was. Glancing back at Root she silently made a plan pulling her jacket off and standing, staying close to the door frame. Sticking her jacket out with her arm she waited and watched. Finally the dim spark and 'pew', she immediately stepped out taking aim and firing. An impossible shot, at least for anyone else. Shaw breathed out as she saw the shooter pop up a little at the shot and took him out with the second shot straight to the head.

Stepping back in she quickly closed the door before running over to Root. Root had scooted herself back to sit against the back wall. She looked very pale and shaky as she tried to smile at the smaller woman. Shaw immediately gripped her face under her chin and looked in her eyes to see how aware the hacker was. Root blinked and gave a small nod to reassure her. Satisfied Shaw moved to take off the big jacket and lifted up the other woman's shirt. There was much light except for a dim flood light in the corner that had come on when they came in.

"You get him?" Root wheezed out.

"Dont talk...yeah, I got him." Shaw said as gruffly as she ever sounded.

Shaw looked around the room for any sort of medical supplies she spotted a emergency pack on the wall next to the generator. She leapt up and grabbed it dumping everything out of it on the floor. It wasnt much mostly the very basics like bandaids as well as some household items. She groaned but found some alcohol, a hand towel, duct tape, wire, fishing line and pliers. Shaw quickly went into action as she moved over to Root and got her to sit up enough to take off her jacket before tearing the shirt enough to have access. She poured alcohol on the wound making Root yell out and try and curl in pain. Shaw pushed back down sternly and told her to hold the hand towel to the wound as tightly as possible.

Shaw grabbed the thin wire cutting off just a needle sized piece before bending it slightly and curling the very end to the smallest of circles. Grabbing the fishing line she fed some through the loop and cut off a decent piece. Pouring alcohol over it she went about trying to stitch her up. Pulling Root's shaking hand away she gave her a look she hoped let her understand she was sorry for what she was about to do. It was rough but she was able to get the thin wire to push through her skin feeding the wire to close the gun shot. Once that side was done she went about turning Root to her side as she quickly closed the exit wound. Making the injured women sit up she checked her eyes again before pouring alcohol over each again. With that done Shaw tore the towel in half and duct taped it tightly to each wound by wrapping it around. She silently begged in her head that nothing major had been hit internally, but from the placement she felt more or less safe on that.

"Well, that was exciting." Root said with a pained chuckle.

"You lost a lot of blood. We need to get some real medical supplies but that should do for now." Shaw explained trying to avoid looking at her.

"I always new you'd be talented with your hands." Root said giving Shaw a lazy smile as she laid on the floor.

"It says something that thats actually comforting to hear from you right now." Shaw said gruffly shaking her head.

"Maybe I am growing on you." She responded in a dazed voice as she stared at the ceiling.

"Maybe you are..." Shaw whispered to herself as she leaned on her knees tiredly.

Root smiled but didnt say anything to that as she focussed on controlling the pain. She knew Shaw was trying to give her a moment before having to make their way back to the main station. She was very grateful as she felt very light headed. Shaw looked down at her with a unreadable expression as she rested her chin on her hands on top her knees. Part of her wanted to reach out to the hacker but she knew she would never give into that desire, so she just watched her. She hated how sick she looked but felt better by reminding herself she had gotten to kill the man that did this.

"We should get back before someone comes looking for us." Shaw said after some time, remembering that lunch would be coming up.

Root winced but nodded as she tried to sit up. Shaw moved forward to help her as she gently wrapped her arm around Root's waist, careful to grip the non-injured side, before wrapping the hackers arm over her shoulder. She stopped short at the door remembering that they needed their jackets. Resting Root against the door Shaw grabbed their jackets putting hers on first and sticking her goggles back on, and sticking her gloves back in her pockets. Turning to Root she helped her put on all of her gear before opening the door and practically dragging Root to the main entrance.

As soon as they got back in Shaw quickly peeled off their jackets and gear to hang back up. Checking down the hall she grabbed back onto Root taking her back to their room. When she finally got them back in there she was still feeling the chill from outside and the exhaustion. Root for her part looked even worse, pale white and a sheer sweat on her forehead. Shaw took a deep breath to calm herself as she tried to figure out what her next step should be. Food and medical supplies were at the forefront of her thoughts.

"Ok, I am going to go get you some food and try to find some real medical supplies. You going to be ok?" Shaw asked tentatively as she reached out and rather roughly brushed some of Root's hair out of her face.

"I just need some sleep..." Root mumbled nodding as her eyes closed.

Shaw sighed but had to go find supplies, unfortunately that meant she would have to be social. Looking down at herself she realized how much blood had gotten on her. Glancing at Root she decided she was safe to change and quickly pulled on some clothes. As she was walking down the hall she realized she was still moving like an agent and tried to remind herself to be calm. After a few more turns she came to the kitchen where she was met with four of the researchers two sitting at the table and the other two preparing food. She put on her best smile and walked in as everyone greeted her.

"Hey, haven't seen you all morning. Where is your better half?" Eugene said from the table.

"She actually isnt feeling well... yeah, she uh, has just been in bed and I just didnt want to leave her alone." Shaw said feeling incredibly awkward.

"Oh I am sorry to hear that. We have a doctor on staff-" Michelle, a bioengineer, started to offer.

"Thats not necessary...I mean, she just has a compressed fracture in one of her lower vertebrae that she re tweaked. Yeah, so I thought I would get her some food." She had said the first part sharply before forcing herself to ease up.

"Oh, well I hope you both feel up to tomorrow." Michelle offered as Eugene nodded along.

"Mm, yeah...me too." Shaw said having no idea what she was talking about but wanting the conversation to end.

"She leads a staff get together once a week, supposed to keep moral up and all that shit." A engineer Shaw had only met once whispered to her when she got over to the counter.

"Ah...um, hey where can I find some medical supplies?" She asked quietly as she tried to be casual, pulling down whatever she could from the cabinet.

"Oh, that would be in the infirmary but only Dr. Tallon has access, there is tylenol and that sort of thing in the drawer over there. Are you ok?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah. Just a headache. Thanks." Shaw said before going over to get a bottle of juice and water.

With her arms full she slowly tried to sneak out of the room. Of course it was never that easy.

"Oh, um Sam, right? See you both tomorrow right? Starts at eleven." Michelle said catching her with a smile.

"Uh, yeah, sounds good." Shaw said cluelessly before offering a awkward bye and slipping out of the room.

Shaw quickly went back to the room making a note of the infirmary on her way back so she could break in. She unceremoniously dumped the food bounty onto the desk before going over to Root with a bottle of juice. Root was asleep but breathing steadily so Shaw nudged her roughly. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at the sight of Shaw holding a juice bottle looking at her intensely.

"Drink this." She said dropping the bottle onto Root before turning around to grab the pack of cookies she had grabbed.

"Dont suppose you found anything for the pain?" Root said with a wince as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

"Thats my next stop. You still look horrible, you should eat." Shaw grumbled before moving to leave again, this time tucking a lock pick from her bag into her pocket.

"Doctors orders?" Root asked with a grin.

Shaw smirked a little before heading out of the room. It was ridiculously easy to get into the infirmary especially as the doctor had left a big sign on the door that said 'went to lunch'. Once she was in she made sure to grab just enough without drawing the doctors attention. A roll of gauze, alcohol wipes, tape, antibiotics, and some pain killers. She silently hoped that they didnt keep too close of tabs in a place like this before slipping back out to Root. Placing the supplies by Root's feet on the cot she took two Oxycontin out and handed them to Root.

"You need to eat with these." She scolded as she saw she had only been sipping on her juice.

"I am. See?" Root said defensively holding up a cookie.

"As soon as you are done we need to get some real dressing on these." Shaw lamented moving over to lift up the hackers shirt to check the wound.

"Just love to get your hands up my shirt." Root teased half heartedly.

"Oh yeah, the bloody, sweaty, pale thing really does it for me." She said disinterestedly as she moved to get her knife to cut off the duct tape.

"What about the bodies?" Root said trying to distract herself as she nibbled on a cookie.

"I will take care of them. I dont think they are going anywhere...you are going to have one hell of a scar." Shaw said as she pulled the bloody towel and duct tape away.

"Not my first." Root said with a slightly dark undertone though she had a sad smile.

"It looks like you've stopped bleeding. Just dont move around too much." The former doctor said grabbing the alcohol pads and cleaning around the stitches making Root hiss in pain.

Shaw tried to be quick and efficient as she redressed the wounds trying not to react to Roots groans of pain. Root did her best not to complain as she waited for the pain meds to kick in. When Shaw was finally done she settled back on the cot with a soft grunt. Shaw went about tidying up the room which Root found surprisingly comforting. When Shaw was done she climbed up on the cot and leaned her back against the wall, just small enough to keep her crossed legs off Root who she was facing. She tore into the cookies with starkly different methods than Root. It was a comfortable quiet as they both rested. Shaw knowing she would have to sneak out late that night to drag the two bodies further away from the building.


	4. Chapter 4

Shaw woke up the next morning before Root, that was a first. She figured it was the pain meds, which she was seriously contemplating slipping them to Root for the remainder of their stay as it was also the first night Root hadnt woken her up. Late last night Shaw had slipped back out to get rid of the two bodies which proved to be very difficult as the snow had packed them in. She also had to ditch one of the coats that Root had been wearing when she was shot. When she finally got back in Shaw was exhausted and pulled off her pants which Root would have had a field day with if she had been awake. She then had climbed over Root and fallen right to sleep. Now she was watching the taller woman sleeping peacefully next to her. She was on her back but her head was turned toward Shaw who was on her side. It would normally make her feel uncomfortable but she had found herself more and more at ease around the hacker.

"Root." Shaw said tiredly reaching out to push the sleeping woman's shoulder gently.

Root's brow creased in irritation but she didnt wake up. Shaw sighed and debated trying to wake her up again. It was late and if they went another day hiding away in their room the others might be suspicious. Before she could attempt again there was a knock at the door. Shaw immediately tensed up her face going hard as she tried to silently climb over Root. Grabbing her gun off the desk she waited until there was another knock. Root let out a grumble in her sleep blindly reaching her hand up to the door knob right next to her.

"Root." Shaw scolded reaching for her but was too late as the door opened.

Shaw quickly tucked the gun behind her back awkwardly when she saw the researcher Michelle standing there. Root had sat up in annoyance rubbing her eyes tiredly and wincing at the pain from her side. Michelle looked surprised as she took in Shaw standing there in a pair of boy shorts and tank top while Root swore under her breath holding her side. She cleared her throat and glanced between the two of them. Root finally seemed to wake up enough to understand she was there and dropped her hand confused.

"Sorry to interrupt, I didnt realize you were both still asleep." Michelle said clearly uncomfortable.

"Late start I guess." Root said with a sweetness to her voice that made Shaw want to roll her eyes.

"Oh, I understand. How is your back?" The red headed researcher asked clearly at ease as she looked at Root in concern.

"My back? It's getting better." The hacker said wincing a little for effect as she stood up next to Shaw, looking at her for a tip on what she had told them.

"Did you need something?" Shaw interrupted trying not to sound too short as she gave Root a slight nod to let her know she had responded ok.

"Right, yes, I wanted to make sure you were both coming to the staff get together this afternoon?" She asked excitedly.

"Um..." Shaw said standing there dumbly.

"Of course, we wouldnt miss it." Root said touching Shaw's arm with a smile, which earned her a unenthusiastic glare.

"Oh, that is great news," Michelle said even throwing in a little hand clap, which made Shaw have to bite her tongue. "Its at eleven, in the main conference room."

"Hmm great..." Shaw drawled out as Root leaned against her with a forced smile as she was still in a lot of pain.

"Well, I will see you both there. Wear something comfortable." Michelle said with a little wave before closing the door behind her.

"This is going to be hell." Shaw grumbled tossing the gun back on the desk before putting her hand on Root's lower back to help her sit back on the bed.

"We have to maintain our cover." The hacker said with a grunt sitting down gratefully.

"Let me change these." The small Persian woman said relenting as she gestured for Root to lay back.

Root moved up to lean back against the wall at the front of the cot. Her eyes getting a mischievous glint when she realized Shaw was only wearing boy shorts and a tank top, showing a lot of skin. Shaw turned around from grabbing supplies to find the hacker giving her a appreciative once over. Shaking her head she tried to keep from smiling as she focussed on tending to the injured woman. Lifting up Root's shirt she was relieved to see that there wasnt much blood. She pulled back the dressing, cleaning around the wound before putting fresh gauze on.

"Do you want something for the pain?" Shaw asked as she pressed gently on the tape around the gauze.

"Unless you want to kiss me and make it better." Root said with a tired smile.

"Keep that up and you wont get anything." Shaw grouched but went to go get some of the pain med she had stollen.

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About and hour later they had updated Finch and Reese on what had happened yesterday and were now on their way to the staff get together. Root had slipped on her usual black skinny jeans and a simple loose fitting grey sweater with boots. Shaw hadnt even wanted to get dressed but finally slipped on her own jeans with a black v neck shirt. Root grabbed her hand right before they entered the room and Shaw rolled her eyes but let her. Root tried not to let the smile pulling at her lips take over but couldnt help it until Shaw gripped her hand tighter than necessary.

"You guys made it!" Michelle said coming up to them with a smile before noticing what they were wearing she added, "Oh did I forget to mention this is a group yoga session?"

Both Root and Shaw went slightly wide eyed at this announcement. There was no way in hell Root could do that in her condition and Shaw would rather be shot.

"Oh but you have time to go change?" She said eagerly.

"You know, I am actually not going to be able to with my back...but Sam here is all about fitness." Root beamed before holding back a grimace at Shaw nearly gripping her hand tight enough to break it.

"Oh of course, well we are also having a special lunch afterwards so you should still hang around and watch, get some food." She told Root sympathetically before turning to Sameen, "Have you ever done yoga before?"

"Not really my thing." Shaw grumbled.

"Its wonderful, I started this up when I first came here to work as part of a way to boost moral. You know out here it is easy for people to loose sight of their health, both mental and physical." She yammered on making both the women before her think of shooting her.

"I just wouldnt feel right leaving you...dear." Shaw said in her standard rough tone but with some desperation behind it which made Root smirk at her.

"Cute...but I'll be fine." The hacker said with her best doe eyes.

Michelle talked a bit longer but Shaw really wasnt paying attention about what before she wandered off. When she finally left Shaw turned to Root with a glare. Root just laughed pulling her in closed to lean in next to her ear.

"Behave. I am going to slip out and do a little snooping." Root whispered in her ear before patting her on the ass and walking over to the seating area.

Shaw very purposefully looked back with a look that could kill. It looked about half the staff actually showed up for this, around fifteen people. Everyone else Shaw rationalized must have had the common sense to realize this is bullshit. As Michelle called for everyone to come together Root gave Shaw a wink her signature smirk playing on her lips. Shaw pursed her lips in annoyance but went over to stand with everyone else. The number wasnt there which made Shaw pause about Root's snooping but she let it go. Most of them were wearing grandma sweats and looked like this was some of the only activity they got. She glanced down at her jeans and wished she had changed before take a stance on the hard flooring. Everyone else had bought mats or blankets.

As Michelle took them through the warm up Shaw saw Root quietly sipping on a bottle of water. As they moved into downward dog Shaw was met with the sight of the butt crack of the man in front of her. Out of instinct she slily grabbed the, towel Shaw thought, the man was using and tugging sharply sending the large man rolling forward to the floor. With a satisfied smile Shaw came back up into the warriors stance as Michelle ran over to help the man with his stance. Root raised her brow in amusement before slowly standing up and slipping out the door.

Root left the room slightly hesitantly, she was a little worried Shaw would end up taking out half the people in there. She didnt want to pass up the opportunity to snoop around, she felt like something suspicious was going on. It just didnt feel right, this entire facility was eery. Root just wanted to look around a little bit. The facility was split up into five separate work spaces where researchers were given work space depending on their field. There was one big conference, infirmary, and kitchen area at the center with six halls leading off of it. One was to the main entrance past the sleeping quarters for most nonessential crew, the other five went off to the various research areas. Root strutted down to the first large work station in the dingy metal facility. There were two researchers there but they didnt pay any mind to her, one working in the far corner and the other engrossed with preparing samples at a lap station desk. Root slipped into the first computer like she belonged and got to work.

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When Root came back to meet Shaw she noticed the man Shaw had taken out before icing his knee at the table. Shaw for her part was all alone, the other people having made a clearing around her. She seemed quite proud of herself as she finished the last pose. Root smirked going to take a seat near the injured man, grimacing as her side pain flared up. After Michelle thanked everyone Shaw effortlessly walked over to Root. Root stood up, walking over to Shaw and grasping the smaller woman's shoulders with a smile.

"Did you behave yourself sweetie?" The hacker whispered.

"All in touch with my inner self." Shaw said dryly.

"Your girlfriend is...spirited." Michelle said coming up to them with as much as a smile as the overly cheerful woman could muster.

"Hmm, that she is." Root said putting her arm around Shaw's shoulder and giving a slight squeeze, "Do you mind if I steal her away?"

Shaw didnt wait for a response, just giving a brief smile before grabbing Root's forearm and pulling her down the hall. When they got back to their room Shaw closed the door and placed her forehead against it with a sigh. Root eased down to sitting to take off her boots but bending over was proving to be really painful. Shaw turned around and noticed her struggle so with a sigh she sat down at the end of the cot closest to her bending down to grab her leg and help her. Root smiled to herself but didnt say anything.

"Did you find anything?" Shaw asked half interested.

"I have Harold doing some background checks on a couple researchers. They seemed...off." Root said leaning back in her chair tiredly.

"Is one of them that Michelle chick? No one is that cheerful." Shaw said making Root smirk.

"It's so quiet here." Root said after a few minutes of silence.

"Machine isnt talking?" Shaw asked already knowing the answer.

"A few messages here and there." The hacker said with a sad smile.

"I guess I am not the best company then." Shaw said lightly with a somewhat sorry smile.

"No one I would rather be with." Root said honestly, making the smaller woman glance at her with a serious expression.

Root gave her a understanding smile before leaning her head back again. Shaw wanted to say something but she had her lips pursed as she just continued to look at the other woman. She didnt have feelings, not really anyways, but when she was around Root it was the closest thing she understood as feelings. Maybe it was because she understood the hacker, they were very similar in a lot of ways which made it easy to imagine the parts that were different. The taller woman never made any demands from Shaw, most of the time seeming to be genuinely interested in her exactly as she was. She stood up drawing the attention of Root who lifted her head.

"Let me check it." Shaw said pointing to Root's side.

Root lifted her shirt with a slight grimace. Shaw leaned down placing a hand on either arm rest, Root did what she was expecting and leaned forward so she was invading her space. Shaw lifted her head so that their faces were barely apart making Root hold her breath in surprise. The former doctor looked momentarily contemplative before moving in and capturing the hackers lips. It was rough and firm as Root stayed as still as possible afraid to move. Shaw took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss before pulling away and going back to looking at her side.

"You in any pain?" Shaw asked gruffly as she pressed gently to the tape around the gauze.

"Nothing I cant deal with." Root responded in a whisper as she looked dazed at the smaller woman.

Shaw nodded lowering Root's shirt back down before finally meeting her gaze. Root bit her bottom lip as she tried to suppress a smile. Shaw glanced at her mouth before leaning back in this time Root meeting her in much more comfortable kiss. The hacker tentatively gripped Shaw's side as she gasped at Shaw biting her bottom lip. Shaw pulled away breathing deeply with her eyes firmly shut. Root reached up and cupped her cheek in concern as she leaned up to kiss the agent again. It was slightly uncomfortable at the angle they were at forcing them to cut it short as Shaw sat back on the cot.

"We arent talking about this." Shaw warned hanging her head down.

"As long as you keep doing that we dont have to talk about anything." Root said in her flirty tone.

"Finally a way to shut you up." The dark haired woman said roughly but a small smirk betraying her.

Root smiled sitting back in her chair again as she looked at Shaw in adoration. It wasnt that she ever thought Shaw and her could have a normal relationship. Maybe they could get as close to one as they were capable though.


	5. Chapter 5

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AN: Mostly just more domestic fluff in this short chapter while I figure out how I want the next part to play out. Sorry for any mistakes. Thanks for all follows/favorites!

Root's computer was making noise and Shaw was contemplating shooting it. She knew Root would probably be angry about it though so she resisted and instead settled for unceremoniously slapping her arm over Root. The hacker didnt seem to get the message however as she simply took it as an invitation to snuggle her arm. Sometimes the hearing impairment courtesy of Control seemed like a blessing, Shaw thought, like when the hacker was asleep and didnt get woken up by the fucking computer beeping. Shaw let out a loan groan as she pulled her arm back and pushed herself up from where she was lying on her stomach. Sitting back on her legs she glared down at Root and then at the computer.

"If you werent injured I would push you off the bed." Shaw said in a low tone as she clamored over the lanky form of Root.

Shaw paused realizing that was a huge thing for her, normally she wouldnt have cared if someone was injured. Shaking her head she just chalked it up to having a mild fondness for Root's abilities, which now happened to include a more physical intimate nature. Walking over to the desk she collapsed back in the chair and pulled open the laptop to see Finch's face on the screen. Rubbing at her temples she squinted at the bright screen.

"What?" She asked with no patience in her tone.

"Ms. Shaw, did I catch you at a bad time?" He asked wide eyed as ever and a somewhat authoritative tone to his voice. Shaw only let out a grunt in response so he continued, "Is Ms. Groves there?"

"She is asleep. Did you find something?" She asked slightly more curious now as she leaned forward in her chair.

"Well, yes, more or less." Finch said dryly as he typed away as he talked. "Ms. Groves had sent me a list to look into from the researchers at the facility, a few have what you might call colorful backgrounds. There are also some rather alarming concerns on the number of recent employees to begin working around the same time as our number. I am sending the information to you both, be discrete...it might be a while before any backup could assist you."

"Gotcha." Shaw lamented as Finch disappeared from the screen, she placed her hand to close the laptop.

Shaw stretched her neck side to side before standing up and looking over at Root. She decided to let her sleep a little while longer and grabbed her bathroom bag before heading out to go brush her teeth and wash her face in the communal bathroom. The moment she stepped out of the room and started down the hallway she could feel the temperature difference. The metal floor was cold even to her socked feet and the air was crisp. She was glad she had opted for a pair of loose grey sweatpants instead of her shorts but she was still only wearing a tank top and she could feel goosebumps rising on her arms at the cool temperature.

When she got to the bathroom she noticed it was empty and wondered how early it was. This place messed with her sense of time. The hum of the light fixture was irritating her as she scowled into the mirror brushing her teeth roughly. She noticed she was starting to look pale, well pale for her, and that her already angular cheeks were even more hollow than usual. There was not nearly enough proper food at this place and she wondered if she would make it the next six...seven weeks? She had lost track, too damn long she thought. She jumped, much to her pride, at the sound of someone coming in to the room. Realizing it was just Root she glared at her with the tooth brush still shoved in her mouth.

"What are you doing up?" Shaw asked ungracefully trying to keep the toothpaste foam in her mouth.

"Charming. I needed the facilities." Root said with a teasing shrug, going into one of the stalls.

This felt way too intimate to Shaw as she went back to brushing her teeth while Root came back out to wash her hands. Waking up in the same bed and now sharing a morning ritual. The two sink counter made it seem even more apparent as Shaw rinsed her tooth brush off and rinsed out her mouth while Root tied up her hair to wash her own face. Shaking her hands off in the sink she bit her lip as she discreetly glanced at Root. She very rarely saw her with her hair up and noticed how relaxed the hacker looked. Her pajamas of shorts and a t-shirt were all twisted from sleep, her hair didnt have its usual L'oreal commercial look, and her face was more calm then she was used to ever seeing it.

"What?" Root asked suspiciously as she dried her face with the hand towel Shaw had brought in making the smaller woman scowl.

"It's just weird to be around someone...like this." Shaw said uncomfortably as she grabbed back her towel from Root's hands roughly.

Root raised a surprise eyebrow but nodded in understanding. She turned, leaning back on the sink as she looked aimlessly at the wall while Shaw washed her face. When she was done she patted her face dry before tossing it on the counter and looking at the taller woman who clearly wasnt completely awake yet. She was putting all her weight back on the sink, with her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she stared at the wall in a daze. Reaching up and tentatively touching her arm drawing her attention as the hacker gave her a lazy smile.

"We should head back to bed." Shaw said now avoiding eye contact.

"Maybe," Root nodded letting out a yawn before a realization dawned on her face. "What time is it?"

"Early." Shaw said with a shrug before taking her hand off Root's shoulder and grabbing her towel and bag.

The smaller agent grabbed Root's wrist pulling her back toward the door but the hacker resisted drawing her attention as she turned back now standing right in front of her. Root had a somewhat nervous smile before dipping down and kissing Shaw lightly on the lips. Shaw rolled her eyes but let a small smile tug at her lips as she grumbled "come on" and pulling the other woman along again. As they got back to their room Shaw carefully placed her bathroom stuff back in her bag and her towel in the laundry pile while Root collapsed onto the cot. Shaw looked over to see the hacker spread out taking up most of the cot.

"I am not that small." Shaw grumbled glancing at the small space Root left before reaching down and pushing her over.

"Maybe I just want you close." Root flirted moving to lay on her side so Shaw could properly lie down.

"We are pretty damn close." She said with a yawn but letting Root inch a little closer anyway.

Root very slowly and hesitantly reached her hand out, placing it gently on Shaw's stomach. Shaw's breath hitched but she didnt say anything as she stared at the ceiling. Root took that as an invitation to continue exploring as she slipped her hand underneath the thin material and ran her hand across her abs, suddenly very appreciative of Shaw's workout routine. Root for her, ever curious, propped herself up on her elbow to look at where the shirt had ridden up and her hand still was. Shaw turned her head looking at the Root's focussed expression with a near blank expression of her own. As the hackers hands made their way further up Shaw finally couldnt take it, roughly grabbing her face and kissing her.

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"Finch called earlier." Shaw mumbled as she slipped back on her shirt, sitting with her back to Root who was still lying on the cot.

"Hmm, did he find anything of interest?" Root asked tiredly, as she ran a hand through her hair.

"He sent you some files on a few people he thought were suspicious." She said looking around the room before her eyes narrowed in on something. "Root, what is that?"

Root's brow furrowed at the accusatory tone but she sat up on her forearms before looking around. When she saw what Shaw was grouching about she flopped back down and let out a exasperated sigh as a smirk took on her face. Wet towels. Root had a bad tendency of just tossing them on things when she was getting dressed after a shower. Last night that had apparently been on one of Shaw's bags. Shaw for her part was not amused and stood up with a scowl before stalking over and grabbing the now dry towel up aggressively. Gripping the fabric tightly she took a deep breath before folding it and placing it in her neat pile of laundry that needed to be done.

"I-sorry. I will do the laundry?" Root suggested with her cutest smile.

Shaw looked at her for a moment trying to stay angry, and part of her really was but the other part was noticing that playful smirk and wasnt unaffected by it. The hacker was back in her pajama clothes, her long limbs stretched out like a cat and her hair was mussed spread out on her pillow. It was both pissing off the smaller woman and making her feel almost domestic or attached to the playful woman staring at her. It was disconcerting either way so she just let out a damn "damn right" in response before busying herself with straightening up the room.

"I will go do it now." Root said with a teasing tone, pulling herself out of bed.

She contemplated staying in her pajamas but decided against it. It was still early but late enough that someone else may be awake. She glanced at Shaw but then threw caution to the wind and changed her clothes in the room. She grabbed her laptop and the laundry before clamoring out of the room as Shaw tried not to smile at the sight of he trying to balance the clothes and computer. Shaw glanced around the room and decided now was the best time to get a workout in since Root would be gone for a while to the laundry room doing research and laundry.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: This chapter each woman gets a lesson in paying attention to their surroundings. Sorry for any mistakes, and thanks for all reviews/follows/favorites!

Root hated laundry, usually she either had dry cleaning or would just do one huge load a week...sometimes even having it sent out. None of that was really an option here though and she couldnt keep making Shaw do all the cleaning. So she shoved all the clothes into the out dated looking machine before looking around to find some detergent to dump in. Looking at the dials she let out a little yawn before just pushing the start button. Since there wasnt really anywhere to sit she gently slid herself up to sit on the dryer next to the washer, cringing at the pain in her side. She pulled open her computer and went to work looking over everything Finch had found.

As usual when Root was on her computer everything else pretty much escaped her notice. Normally it wasnt a problem as the Machine was always whispering information about her surroundings. Here she didnt have that luxury but, despite being shot, hadnt learned her lesson yet on being more observant. The hacker was eagerly reading everything, always thrilled with having information. So she failed to notice the washing machine overflowing with suds right away. It wasnt until it started slamming around that she looked over just in time to see the suds soaking into her pants. She swore under her breath and hopped off the dryer.

"Shit." She mumbled holding her laptop in one hand as she looked at the mess.

She stood there almost childlike as she wondered what the hell had happened. She set her laptop away from the mess on the floor before walking over to shut off the machine. She sighed in relief when it finally stopped making the loud thunking noise. Opening the lid she pursed her lips as she realized that she, just maybe, had over stuffed it. With a groan she reached in and pulled out all the sudsy clothes silently cursing to herself as she slipped on the suds that had gotten on the floor. She caught herself before she fell but in the process had pushed all the wet clothes against herself. She slung the clothes in the big old sink in the corner.

She now understood why this room had drain in the floor. Since the water pump they used was powered by a heated self repeating recycling system powered by a eco-friendly turbine on the roof, it didnt always work very well. The showers, faucets, laundry...pretty much anything involving water was a hit or miss process. Sometimes the system would freeze and the pipes would burst, and they would be out of luck for water that day. In any case, the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room all had drains for those days. Today was not one of those days, instead more of a Root mishap day, but it still worked for her problem. So she pushed as much of the mess onto the floor as she could. She grabbed the old looking mop from the corner and pushed the little suds on the floor to the drain in the middle of the small room.

Once that was done she grabbed a few paper towels and wiped up the best she could. Finally she split the clothes up into two piles, placing one into the washer. She set the dial to extra rinse and hoped that would be enough. She did not want to sit through a entire cycle again so it was hopefully going to rinse the soap out. When she got that done she let out a low groan as she lifted her shirt to look at her still healing wound. It was still closed, thank God because Shaw would kill her if she had opened it, but looked a little red from the exertion. Opting to sit on the floor this time so she could face her new opponent, the washer, she eased herself to sit next to her computer. This time she found herself glancing up every few moments at the washer while she worked.

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Shaw for her part had been working out for close to an hour and was breaking for some water. Sipping at a bottle she looked around the room, and not for the first time feeling very confined. When Root wasnt with her she was struck even harder with the amount of time she had spent in the small room. She didnt know how everyone here didnt loose their minds spending all year round here. She desperately wanted to go outside, to be on a mission, hell even to just be taking Bear on a walk. Isolation was never much of a problem for her in the past but this place was an entirely different battle. Avoiding most other people was not a problem, she even liked it a little bit, but the lack of a mission and physical exertion was killing her.

She went back to her workout, making the best with the small space she had. Her mind was drifting to Root however. The lack of a problem this living together thing was, was actually feeling like a problem to Shaw. She never thought that she was capable of being around someone as much as she was with Root. Much less to be sleeping next to, and now sleeping with, another person every night was like her idea of hell. Not the sex part, because she had a healthy appreciation for that, but the intimacy that was coming along with living with another person. It was becoming more comfortable to be with Root than to be away from her. That was just fucking weird, not only because it was Root, but because it was Shaw with Root. Were either of them even capable of this much intimacy? Shaw didnt know, but here she was. Maybe it was because Root could understand her in a way no one else could that it made a lack of problem a problem.

As her mind continued to drift to Root, she lost her usual pinpoint concentration. She failed to notice the creaking of the pipe she had just begun to do pull up on. So while she was thinking about whether Root had eaten breakfast, the pipe was giving way. With a loud crash Shaw collapsed to the ground as a rush of cold air came into the room. The old pipe had been attached to the air heating unit in their room, it pumped cold air to the unit to heat and then push into the room. The cold air was now flowing freely into the room.

"Well, fuck." Shaw grumbled her mind wandering to the warning Root had given her when they had first arrived and Shaw had been using the pipe, _"I dont think you should be doing that, looks a little rickety"_ Root had warned.

Shaw let out a low groan before walking over to her bag to look for tape. After searching the room she found some duct tape and pulled the desk chair over to stand on while she tried to tape the pipe back to the unit and stop the cold air. When she was done, the room was freezing and the unit was no longer pumping any warm air. The tape had stopped most of the cold air however, but some some was still leaking out. She sighed but hoped that would work for now.

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When Root finally got back to the room she dumped all the clean clothes onto the cot with her computer on top. She looked a little sheepish as she avoided Shaw who was sitting at the desk chair also avoiding eye contact. Root noted how cold it was in the room, and with her shirt still damp from the laundry room mishap she could hardly take it. Shaw glanced at her finally before her entire attention was drawn by the damp shirt that Root was pulling off.

"What happened to you?" She asked trying to sound casual but still maintaining her gruffness.

"Oh, I just got my shirt a little wet when I was switching the laundry over." Root said casually as she shook her head, pulling a clean shirt on from the pile of clothes. "Why is it so cold in here?"

"Hm, the uh, heater stopped working." Shaw said lifting the book she had on her lap as she lifted her eyebrows, in turn making Root suspicious.

"Maybe I should look at it-" Root started before Shaw tossed her book on the desk and stood up abruptly. She grabbed Root and kissed her rather awkwardly before Root could look up at her little accident.

Shaw held her in place and eventually Root gave in to the kiss, even more surprised when Shaw backed them up a few steps to the desk chair and pulled her on top of her. From this angle Shaw was sure Root couldnt see what had happened. The hacker for her part looked slightly concerned and confused as she looked at her. She lifted a hand to Shaw's face before looking her in the eyes, her brow furrowed in concern.

"Are you feeling okay?" She asked feeling how tense Shaw was in their position.

"Yeah, fine." Shaw said nodding her head and avoiding eye contact as Root studied her carefully.

"Not that sweaty isnt a good look for you, but I think I am going to go grab some breakfast while you shower." The hacker said finally breaking the silence before hesitantly leaning in and kissing the shorter woman.

"Great." Shaw said almost dropping her off her lap as she stood up and ushered her out of the room.

Once Root was gone, Shaw glanced over at the cot and glared at the clean clothes tossed there. She knew the other woman did these things on purpose she thought as she huffed over and started folding them. She was quick and placed the clothes in each of their respective bags before grabbing some clean ones for herself and a towel before heading to go actually shower. She was still feeling embarrassed at the idea of Root finding out about her breaking the pipe.

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After Shaw was done showering she wandered to the kitchen to find Root standing at the counter sipping some coffee. There were a couple other people in the room but everyone there looked like they were still waking up. One guy was reading over his notes as he ate a table across the room, the other was simply wolfing down as much food as he could by a couch that sat just beyond the front of the counter. Shaw brow creased in concern at confusion of what time it was. Looking to the wall she finally saw the clock. It was eight thirty in the morning and most of the researchers would have already eaten. It made her realize how early they had gotten up.

"Coffee?" Root asked leaning her head to the side with a smile as Shaw approached.

Shaw let out a grunt which Root of course interpreted as a yes while she grabbed another mug for the smaller woman. Shaw hated the food here, none of it was fresh, either canned or freeze-dried. She reached over and grabbed Root's half eaten breakfast. It wasnt like the hacker ever ate everything on her plate anyways, she was a very finicky eater. Shaw tore into every meal like it was her last but Root was very conscious of what she was eating and tended to pick at her meals until she was full. Half the time it felt like Shaw had to remind her to eat anything. So Shaw didnt feel bad at all about stuffing the last of Root's breakfast in her mouth, and tried not to notice that Root didnt seem to mind either, if the look of adoration she was giving her was any indication.

"Do you want something else?" Root asked invading Shaw's personal space.

"Mm, maybe." Shaw said with her mouth full as she looked somewhat self conscious..

Root found some frozen potato shreds and freeze-dried eggs. She was actually able to make a halfway decent breakfast out of it as Shaw pulled herself up onto the counter behind the stove she was at. Sipping her coffee she didnt even attempt to help. Root wasnt expecting her to. One of the men who had been eating breakfast brought his dishes into the cooking area, walking between them. He very blatantly checked out Root's ass as she brushed past them to place the dishes in the sink. As he walked back he caught Shaw's eyes as she glared coldly at him. He looked rightfully scared and embarrassed as he tried his best to slink past her. She had to resist the temptation to trip him which meant she was jealous she realized, that was new.

"Alright, here you go." Root said oblivious to Shaw's internal struggle as she spooned the food onto her previous breakfast plate.

"You dont want any more?" Shaw asked lowly as she moved the food around on the plate that was now on her lap.

"It's all your's sweetie." The hacker said in her breathy voice as she herself picked up her coffee eagerly.

"Did you find anything out?" The darker haired woman asked before shoveling a spoon full in her mouth.

"We are currently in a facility with three terrorists. Our number, and two others who are trying to get his research. So I bugged their rooms before I came here." She said almost cheerfully as she raised her shoulders and smiled over her coffee.

"Who?" Shaw asked now intrigued.

"Some Russian scientist named Markov in bio research, and...Michelle." Root finished knowing Shaw would be happy at this news.

"I knew it." Shaw said with the smallest hint of a smile on her lips. "So what is the plan?"

"Surveillance, we wait and make sure none of them are looking to make a move before we have a way to get out of here." Root said with a shrug.

Shaw looked a little disappointed at the news of having to sit around waiting but had expected as much. At least it meant if one of them tried anything she would finally see some action. If the attack on them last week had been any indication, someone was getting a little impatient to get to their number. It would only be a matter of time before someone else happened to move in. She doubted it would wait until they were able to get out.

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Later that night they were lying on the cot next to one another watching the footage on the laptop of their three people of interest. Nothing of interest had happened and the room was freezing. Root had pulled out a thick blanket and they were sitting shoulder to shoulder but both were still trying to control their shaking. Shaw had yet to confess to her role in the temperature drop.

"They are all in bed now." Root said with chattering teeth before reaching out to close the laptop.

"Put the blanket back down, its fucking freezing." Shaw grumbled as Root got out of bed to put the laptop on the desk.

"Well whose fault is that, and for the record. I told you so." Root said turning back around with a knowing smile.

"How did you...?" Shaw trailed off as the hacker tapped her ear making the smaller agent roll her eyes. "So she cant warn you about terrorists or anything, but she somehow finds a way to tell on me?"

"No, but you just confirmed what I figured from the duct taped pipe up there." The amused woman said pointing up to the pipe before sauntering back over to the cot.

Shaw's had a full on death glare as Root slid back under the blanket next to her. As Root tried to slip her arm around Shaw all she got was a mumbled 'get the hell off me' which just made the other woman smirk as she curled up under the blanket, her back to Shaw. Not two minutes later she was startled to feel Shaw hesitantly rest a hand on her hip as she pressed up against Root.

"I am only doing this because it's so cold I can hardly feel my hands." Shaw grumbled tiredly.

"Whatever you say Sameen." Root whispered relishing in the moment.


	7. Chapter 7

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So sorry for the long wait, I intended to have this up on Sunday but had some connection issues. I know this chapter isnt long so I will try and get another one up in the next few days. Thanks for those still reading and for any reviews/follows! Oh, and sorry for any mistakes...

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A few days later Root was sick, not deathly so, but still sick. She had never been a great patient. Gun shot wounds? Knife wounds? Unscheduled surgery? No problem for her. It was just pain that she could manage and push through. Being sick though? She was the biggest baby ever. She complained, she pouted and she literally just didnt move out of bed. Now this had never been much of a problem seeing as she normally was on her own on the rare occasion she got sick. So she could simply curl up under a blanket for a few days, dramatically wishing death, until her body decided to cooperate with her.

"Whats wrong with you?" Shaw deadpanned as she stood over Root with a mug of coffee in her hand.

"Arent you the one with the medical degree?" Root grumbled through her congestion as she buried her face into her pillow.

"She gets shot, cant keep her in the fucking bed...gets a cold, and wants a damn bed maid." Shaw grumbled passive aggressively as she walked over to the desk chair.

"My head feels like its going to crack open." The hacker complained with a sniffle as she kicked the blanket off herself.

The last two days her fever had been causing her to alternate between chills and sweats as she would kick the blankets just to begin shaking a hour later. Shaw, for her credit, had been more than patient considering she wanted to simply toss the other woman out in the snow. She had, rather violently but still, tossed the blanket back on her when she started shaking. She had taken her temperature while she was sleeping...and maybe, while she was running her wrist over the hackers forehead, she had also placed her hand over the woman's heart as well. She would never admit it as a tender action however, it was only to check her breathing...or heart rate...whatever, she would grumble.

"I want tea." She said weakly.

"I got you tea earlier and you not only didnt drink it, but you spilt it on my side." The smaller woman reminded her with a scowl.

"Please?" Root asked but was already falling back asleep.

Once she was out, Shaw sighed but got up and walked over to check on her. She was cool to the touch, with a sheer sweat on her skin as her fever broke. That would mean chills again, the former doctor thought. Placing her hand on Root's chest again she found it strangely comforting to feel the steady heartbeat under her palm. Sliding her hand up to cup the lanky woman's face she let out a low 'tut' noise at the clammy skin. As she was about to pull away Root curled into her in her sleep, one of her arms draping over Shaw's leg hat was rested on the cot where she sat. Shaw awkwardly placed her hand on Root's shoulder, as the sleeping woman had curled onto her side.

She wore a blank expression as she watched the affectionate display. She didnt feel anything really, sure it was nice in a way, but it was also disconcerting. She had never reached for anyone the way Root was doing to her now. People always think of sociopaths as unable to feel anything, thats not true. The true mark of a sociopath is a complete lack of empathy. The reason most people cant make the distinction is that empathy is so deeply attached to every human action. Shaw knew she didnt feel the way others did, she felt anger, some type of happiness, and the like. She didnt understand fear, or love, or anything like other people. She did experience her own variations in the little she did feel. When she was with Root, she felt a small twinge of...interest? Which was the closest she could get to true attachment or caring. To others it wasnt much, if anything, to Shaw, it was everything and fascinated her.

So Shaw sat there, letting Root, who felt so much more than most people, cling to her. She let whatever small twinge of feeling settle in the pit of her stomach and focussed on it in curiosity. Root had been a gun for hire, she had manipulated and destroyed others around her. The difference was, Root was able to do all those things because she could feel everything around her. Shaw never had problem doing anything she did because she just didnt care, she didnt have any semblance of understanding the feelings of the other person she killed. Root cared, deeply, she knew everything that was going on and thrived on it. Root created her own morality from the distorted, fucked up reality she had known her entire life because she could see so much more than others. Shaw had never felt anything and instead created her own structure so she could control it.

Shaw sat there for over an hour, silently watching the hacker. Being in a place like this, where there wasnt a lot else to do but sit, was something that Shaw had never experienced aside from reconnaissance work. So she treated it like this. She studied her target and kept still.

"Mm, Shaw?" Root let out in a sigh of confusion when she realized she was curled onto the other woman.

"Just checking your temperature." Shaw said casually but didnt move.

Root looked dazed and sick but strangely delighted at the position they were in. Shaw for her part pursed her lips and looked rather annoyed as she slid her hand down to Root's waist. The sick woman rolled onto her back slowly so she could put one hand on Shaw's forearm, to keep her hand on her waist. The smaller of the two didnt pull away still which she took as encouragement, leaving her other hand curled lightly around Shaw's bent knee resting on the cot.

"Your fever finally broke. How do you feel?" Shaw asked, her thumb gently rubbing at the dip of Root's hip.

"Better. Tea would be nice..." Root whispered with the tinniest of smirks which made Shaw shake her head with a annoyed smile.

"You need a shower. You smell horrible." The agent said bluntly.

"I dont want to move." Root grumbled bringing her arm up to cover her face.

"I'll get you tea. You have to at least get up so I can change the sheets." Shaw said as more of an order as she stood up.

Root slid her arm down with a smirk but gave a nod of agreement. Shaw rolled her eyes but went to go get the tea anyways. Once she had left the room Root slowly sat up. Her aches were mostly gone, along with her headache and fever so she found herself back to her usual 'ignore all pain' self as she stood up. She grabbed a tissue from the box on the desk and let out a groan as she blew her congested nose. Looking over at the bed she scrunched her nose up. There was used tissue and a tea stain on Shaw's side of the bed and the hacker felt a little guilty. With a relenting sigh she went ahead and changed the sheets herself. When Shaw got back she found Root tossing the dirty sheets and blanket into the laundry pile by the desk.

"Thanks." Root said with a adoring smile as she took the coffee mug from Shaw who looked considerably less irritated at seeing what Root had done.

"You arent getting back on the bed until you shower, Root, you just changed the sheets." Shaw warned stopping Root who was already heading back by gently grabbing her arm.

After some argument Shaw finally got Root to go shower. She followed behind her carrying the dirty laundry in her arms, she couldnt stand the idea of it sitting in the room. So while Root tiredly patted into the bathroom, Shaw made a detour to dump the laundry in. She went to go check on the hacker afterwards with a yawn. It was easy to forget that they were in a secluded facility with terrorists as the days droned on, until a situation like this happened. As Shaw walked into the bathroom she was met with the sight of Root being pinned against the wall by Michelle who was holding a knife to her neck. Shaw immediately went into action as Root used what little strength she still had to push the slightly smaller woman off her.

Michelle was deceptively well trained as she came at Shaw wielding the knife expertly. Shaw dropped, sweeping her leg but the other woman was too quick and leapt up just in time. She stepped lunged at Shaw as she quickly tried to get to her feet. Shaw blocked the knife, delivering a quick upward jab to Michelle's nose sending her stumbling back. This gave Root the opportunity to circle her towel around the red heads neck, pulling tightly. Shaw quickly freed the knife from the struggling woman before delivering a hard hit that knocked her out. Root let her body drop to the ground with a relieved sigh.

"What happened?" Shaw asked quickly moving over to lock the door before coming back to check Root for injury.

"Apparently we werent the only ones doing research, she bugged us, knew we knew." Root said with a slight grimace as Shaw gently inspected the small cut on her throat.

"She isnt going to be out for long." Shaw said processing the information.

"How do you want to play this?" The still sick woman asked.

"Drug her and see what Finch wants." Shaw said with annoyance, wishing she had had reason to just kill her.

As Root nodded she bent down to help move the body, but Shaw placed a firm hand on her shoulder with a stern look. Root looked at her in confusion before Shaw nodded at the shower. Root gave her a 'are you serious?' look and let out a disbelieving sigh before pulling off her shirt as she walked toward the stall. Meanwhile Shaw checked the halls for anyone around and when she got back Root was pulling on a pair of sweats. They managed to drag the body back to their room, where Shaw secured her.


	8. Chapter 8

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AN: So not as quick as I wanted, but quicker than last time...so yay? Anyways, thank you very much for any reviews/follows/favorites. Also, the review about having a winter-y Shoot fic in the middle of a hot summer was totally on point. Haha I spent my summer in a dessert and was sitting there like oh, the arctic, what a perfect place for them. Very refreshing. Seasonal Shoot, I kinda like that idea.

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Root woke up to Shaw holding her shirt up as she inspected where the hacker had been shot before. She was ever so slightly grazing the still tender area with the tips of her fingers. Root tried not to make any movement to alert the other woman that she was awake. Shaw's face showed no sign of anything she was thinking, it was void of any expression as she seemed lost in thought. Root had been propped up on her pillow's the previous night as she was still congested from her cold. So Shaw didnt have to move too far down the cot to be at her waist, she was now slightly curled propped up on one elbow as her other hand absently busied with Root.

"I know you're awake." Shaw said stilling her hand as she placed her full hand to rest on Root's hip below the gun shot scar.

"Well sweetie, you put your hand under a gals shirt..." Root trailed off lazily with a smirk.

"I should probably go check on her." Shaw grumbled resting her head down on her bicep as she let her forearm that had been propping her up collapse down.

"It's been three days, I dont think she is going to talk...at least not without a little more persuasion than the cold." Root deadpanned, hesitantly reaching her hand down to Shaw's hair.

"Mhm, well I suggested that to Finch but he gets so fidgety and irritated when I bring up torture." Shaw said breathy and tired.

"Maybe I should go talk to her." Root suggested in her typical elusive manner, relishing in running her hand through Shaw's hair which was actually down from the night before.

"You think you will be able to manage something I cant?" Shaw scoffed tensing a little.

"We all have our strong suits, sweetie. Besides, I have almost made a sport out of disappointing Harold." The hacker said almost whimsically.

"I guess, I cant know where you are all the time, so if, you were to sneak over there and have a talk with her, Finch couldnt really blame me." The agent relented knowing Root was smiling fondly at her.

"Spending weeks alone with me is making you much softer." Root teased making Shaw lift her head to scowl at her.

Root was expecting a scathing comeback but was pleasantly surprised when Shaw just sat up and scooted so she was the same height. Looking at Root carefully she leaned in and kissed her firmly. Shaw had been getting a lot better with the physical contact over the last week. It was a slow process but Root was never one to shy away from touching Shaw and it seemed Shaw had finally given up on fighting it. Now she was even hesitantly reciprocating it. Root was sure if this little impromptu trip hadnt occurred they never would have made it to this point. Shaw was like a feral animal, you had to trap her in a confined space and then develop a trust before you could even hope for her to stay in a room with you, even then she would only attach to a single a person.

It didnt take much for physical needs to trump any other ideas the women had. Shaw was very methodical and precise in bed, not in a boring way but in a determined way. There was never any hesitation or fumbling, no boredom or incompetency, it was amazing in that way to Root. It was so effortless between them, both moving with fluidity and never having to question the other. It was new to Shaw as well who tended to find most her other partners, one night stands more like, incapable and all together unsatisfying mostly because they were so dull and hesitant. Root never second guessed herself or Shaw and was willing to try anything as it came along.

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Root came bustling into the little generator shack outside the facility. She quickly discarded her hood and gloved to keep the chill off her. Yanking off her big coat she tossed it to the ground as well before eyeing the tied up woman on the ground with her more manic smile. She had left Shaw still sleeping in their room, not wanting to give her a chance to change her mind. They needed to know if Michelle had any contacts that would be paying a visit upon not hearing from her.

"Your girlfriend finally give up?" The bound woman asked looking at Root unimpressed.

"She never gives up, just decided to change tactics. We both have our strong suits, mine has always been more personable than hers." Root said reaching behind her back and bringing a knife out from where she had it tucked.

"Am I suppose to be afraid of you? You look like a L'Oreal hair model." Michelle said weakly.

"Hmm well lets see if we can change that for you." Root said bending down to meet meet Michelle's eyes with a malicious smirk.

Michelle eyed the knife in Root's hand as her own expression faulted slightly but she clinched her chaw to try and mask it. The hacker for her part felt a rush of adrenaline as she cocked her head to the side and eyed over Michelle trying to plot her first attack. It was strangely comforting to her as she relished in the moral ambiguity of this situation. She always did love a challenge.

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Shaw woke up and quickly discovered Root missing. It didnt take her any time to know where she had gone. A big part of her wanted to go watch but she decided against it, plausible deniability she decided when Finch found out. So instead she pulled on her clothes, put her hair back and sat down at the desk with her legs kicked up. Opening the laptop she pulled up the camera feed from where Root had planted cameras in the facility. Clicking through the feeds she didnt see much of interest until she got to the numbers room. The number appeared to be passed out on the ground, Shaw sat up straight as she pulled up the camera to the hall just outside his room. No one was nearby so Shaw immediately slid her gun into her waistband at the small of her back before rushing out.

Swiftly, but quietly, she moved down the hall with one hand ready behind her to grab her gun. As she got to his door she pulled the gun out discreetly incase anyone came a long as she tried the door. It was unlocked so she slipped in, her gun at the ready. After clearing the small space she knelt down next to the number to check for a pulse. He was dead. The room was in complete distress, clearly someone had ransacked the place looking for something. She had a good idea what it was too, the numbers research, and judging by the way things had turned out it looked like they had gotten them.

Swearing under her breadth she stood up. If they left the body like this, it was clear to Shaw that they were not worried about anyone finding it. This meant one thing to her, they had a way out of this place with the plans. Since Michelle was tied up, they either had some friends of hers visiting or that Markov, the Russian mole they had discovered there, had made their move. The smaller agent quickly resolved to get Root before anything else. If it was Michelle's contacts here, they wouldnt waste time in locating her which meant Root could be in trouble.

As she rounded the corner to get to the exit of the facility she ran into none other than the hacker. She let out a unknown sigh of relief as she quickly grasped Root's arm, pulling her back towards their room. Root for her part recognized the look on Shaw's face and didnt argue as she followed along. She had gotten what they needed out of Michelle and was eager to tell Shaw. When they got back to the room Shaw quickly explained what had happened.

"It wasnt Michelle, she claimed she had people coming but couldnt even explain the short wave communication system it would require...long story short, she was lying." Root said typing away at her laptop to locate the feedback of right before the number was killed.

"Sounds like Markov is our guy." Shaw breathed out with a nod.

"Looks like he has some company too." Root said gesturing to the screen as Shaw came up next to her to watch.

Two men were in the numbers room. One was Markov, rummaging through his things, while another large man beat the number for information. As the number finally gestured to his desk and relented the location, Markov pulled out a small hard drive from a secret compartment before nodding to the other man who snapped the numbers neck easily. Root quickly pulled up the feed to follow their location afterwards. It had them moving to a little used storage area on the far end on the facility. If she had to bet, that was where their communications was.

"Why arent they already out of here? If he got his man in, why didnt they go right back out?" Shaw asked in irritation.

"I think, his friend has been here the entire time. Right under our nose." Root said pulling up a enlarged image of the man and then doing a quick scan which led to the emergence of a picture of the janitor.

"We didnt bother to check maintenance staff." Shaw said angrily. "So whats their game plan here?"

"They must have a way out, why else would they have moved now?" The hacker asked trying to connect to Finch to let him know what had happened.

There had been a large storm moving in however so the satellite wasnt connecting. As Root tapped away Shaw began to pace the room as she tried to piece together what was happening. It didnt make any sense for them to have gone in for the plans now right before a huge storm when no one was getting in or out no matter what resources they had. So they must have had no other choice but to go in when they did, but why?

"I couldnt get us a face-to-face with Harold, but I think I got a message out to him." Root sighed pushing her hair back from her face.

Shaw looked at Root, both of them thinking the same thing. They had to neutralize the threat before they managed to get out of the facility with the plans. Root rested her chin on top of her crossed arms she had rested on the back of the chair and gave Shaw a small smirk. The other woman's face softened as she raised her eyebrow in question. The hacker shrugged as she slipped up from the chair and reached into her bag, pulling out a gun. Shaw gave a rare smile at the sight and quickly checked her own gun out of habit. Both of them were probably a little to eager for this little gun fight.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Thanks for any follows/reviews! Sorry for any mistakes, I wrote this one a tad faster and know there are a couple. I am thinking this story will have about three more chapters of them in the facility and maybe a continuation of them dealing with their relationship once they are back in the city.

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Root put on her best nerd gear to look the part of a tech specialist, her guise while she was here after all, to be the bait. She was wearing a simple blue jersey blazer over a white shirt with black skinny slacks, complete with her glasses. She had slipped her computer bag across her shoulder, concealing two handguns inside. Shaw didnt like it, she wanted to draw them out but Root got her way. Shaw tugged at the strap of Roots bag weakly, scowling as she did.

"Remember to keep a hand in your bag, the moment any sign of danger, drop the bag and shoot." She instructed needlessly, Root knew what she was doing.

"You act like we have never done this...its only two well trained bio-terrorists." The hacker said with a grin.

"Something still feels off about this..." Shaw grumbled, avoiding eye contact as Root reached out to grasp Shaw's forearms.

"Well I guess its a good thing I have two guns." Root whispered pulling Shaw a little closer.

"Still say thats lame." She said with a small smile playing on her lips.

"I thought you said it was hot." The taller woman teased.

"Come on. I am ready to shoot someone." Shaw said with a half hearted glare as she shooed Root toward the door.

Root quickly pecked her on the cheek earning a hard push but that only made her laugh before walking out of the room. Shaw shook her head as she tucked a gun into her waist band. Root for her part was positively radiating with energy at getting to get back into the game. She walked up to the door of the supply room with all the confidence in the world. Luckily it was located in a fairly isolated area of the facility so there was little worry about any interaction with real researchers. She walked up to the door and opened it while digging into her bag, pretending to be looking for something. The two men inside were quick to jump to their feet but didnt pull out any weapons. The one was now in his undercover uniform as the janitor and they seemed to be confused more than concerned at the presence of Root.

"Oh, sorry boys...I was supposed to update all the computers and thought they said there was one in here – clearly I got lost, again. This place isnt that big, but I guess I am just that talented." Root rambled bashfully, seemingly embarrassed computer nerd.

"There are no computers in here." The man dressed as a janitor said in a fairly thick Russian accent.

"Sorry to interrupt – is that an extra optic cable? I have really needed one of those..." Root said marching behind the larger of the two men to make like she was grabbing something off the shelf.

"No, stop where you are!" The janitor said angrily sliding his hand behind his back for his weapon.

Root was faster however as she quickly spun around Markov and stuck a needle in his neck before he had time to act. The large man didnt have a chance as he slid to the ground, meanwhile the other man wasted no time in pulling the gun from behind his back. Root narrowly missed his first shot as she pulled out her own guns from her bag as she hit the floor. It was ultimately unnecessary however as Shaw put a bullet through his head as she marched into the room. She quickly scanned the area with her weapon out in front of her. Satisfied it really was just the two men she tucked her gun away and walked over to Root.

"You drugged him?" Shaw asked in irritation, that hadnt been the plan.

"We need information, I saw an opening. Besides doesnt it make you feel all nostalgic for the time I did it to you?" Root hummed as she stood up and casually dusted herself off unnecessarily.

"I had wanted to kill you for that." Shaw said in her usual low grumble but without any bite as she knelt down to check that the guy was completely out.

"The real question is how are we going to move our friend here?" Root asked looking around the rather large storage room.

"We dont. We get rid of the body outside and keep Markov here, drug him and see if he talks. Look for the plans." Shaw ordered calmly as they both moved to check each man for the small external drive they had taken from the number.

"Got em'." Root claimed victoriously pulling the small drive from the inside of the man janitorial outfit.

"We need to get those back to Finch." The small agent said began to tie up Markov with an extension cord from the shelf.

"We have two weeks until the next window between storms to get out of here." Root said absentmindedly as she quickly looked through the dead mans mobile.

"I am very aware of that." Shaw said under her breadth.

"So why did they go for the plans now? They didnt even try to cover up the numbers dead body." The hacker said tiredly staring down at the body as she slipped his phone into her pocket.

"If I killed a man and didnt cover it up, it would be because I either didnt care if anyone found it or because I had someone else coming to clean up..." Shaw trailed off at the thought suddenly feeling like they werent so alone.

"I knew there was something off about you two." A voice said drawing both of their attention.

A familiar looking man was standing there, the damn pilot Shaw thought she had killed when she destroyed their way out she realized. Root couldnt help but hold back a smile when she heard the smaller woman next to her swear under her breadth. Shaw slowly reached her hand back toward her gun but was immediately meant with the man pulling out a second gun, Root style.

"See, two guns-" Root started to whisper.

"Not now Root." Shaw growled as she slowly stood and moved next to the hacker holding her hands up slightly.

"Two hot women, screwing each other too, come here as a security and computer expert? Only in some poor teenage nerds dream." The man said with a sketchy smile as he looked them over. "So who do you two work for?"

"Screwing? Seriously? What are you, twelve?" Shaw asked annoyed.

"What, that part of your cover too? Not likely from some of the things I heard about the noise you two get up to." He said with a sleazy victorious smile.

"No, just screwing implies the wrong mechanics." Root said with a knowing whisper and nod as she shrugged her shoulders which earned her a hard elbow from Shaw.

The guy's attention was clearly on Root and in a split second Shaw pulled the gun Root had tucked in her back and shot him in the shoulder before pulling Root to the side. He let out a groan but unfortunately didnt fall as he ducked to the side of the door frame. Shaw and Root crouched down close to the wall.

"Do you ever think before you talk?" Shaw asked let out a breadth of air to blow a stray hair out of her face as she glanced at Root with a annoyed expression.

"Did I embarrass you sweetie?" Root asked clearly pleased with herself before standing up as she pulled out her other gun.

With two carefully placed shots they heard a thud on the other side of the wall the hacker had just fired at. Shaw pursed her lips in annoyance as she rolled her eyes up with a sigh. Root meanwhile was practically prancing over the bodies to the door to check on her work. She was clearly proud at having her skills even without the Machine in her ear. Shaw stood up with a grumble, they now had three dead bodies to hide away outside, and two hostages, two weeks seemed a hell of a lot longer now.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Thanks for any review/follows! Sorry for any mistakes...

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They had twelve days before they were able to leave back home. They were both anxious with eagerness and dread. There was an eagerness to get back to space, wide open space of the city, and the missions. Root was eager to hear the Machine in her ear again, and Shaw was dying for real food. The dread was more subtle, but both women had it buzzing under their nervous energy. They werent sure what would happen with them after they got back. Root had wanted to say something about it, but it would only come out as a joke and irritate Shaw. Shaw for her part was quieter than usual, she wouldnt address why to herself, but she felt angry. She in turn wanted to pull away from Root, but it was nearly impossible in the small space they were still trapped in. Root to her credit, was not pushing her to talk or anything, she accepted that she was processing in her own way.

At night they would still end up sleeping together most nights, but talking was becoming a rarity. The only escape they had from one another was dealing with the mess surrounding their number. They had been lucky that the pilot had already disposed of the numbers body, that only left them with the task of dealing with the janitor (terrorists) body and the pilot. They had dragged them out into the storm and then secured Markov in the storage closet. Shaw had rigged the lock so no one could get into the room except her and then Michelle was still outside in the generator shed. Despite being able to explain this with ease, it was actually one of the longest two days either of them had had. They had to manage all of this while still keeping the rest of the people at the facility ignorant to everything. Root had managed to convince them that the number was alive and well working from his bedroom by doing entry work on the computer. After that it was just a matter of having a awkwardly loud conversation about how weird the number was acting and how they had tried to talk to him but he was adamant about being in the middle of a breakthrough so couldnt be bothered.

Michelle was proving more difficult to cover up for, so they simply played as dumb as everyone else on the matter. There wasnt much to be done, they had come to Shaw as the security expert to report her missing. After several hours of listening to people drone on about it and falsely searching for her, Shaw had placed the seed of idea in everyones head that she must have gotten lost out in the storm but that they would have to wait to search and file a proper report. Now everyone was acting sad and mopey, which Shaw didnt really understand but so long as they all shut up she was fine with. Root made sure Michelle wasnt dead, and Shaw handled Markov every day.

Right now Root was watching as Shaw caught her breath before she slid out of bed and pulled on her shirt and underwear. The hacker had no intention of moving at the moment, so just laid there. To her surprise Shaw laid back down next to her. The taller of the two was laying on her side with a sheet pulled up to her chest and her head resting on her arm. Hesitantly she reached out to Shaw with her other arm and placed her hand on Shaw's forearm. Shaw was sitting up with her back against the wall and flinched at the touch. She adjusted quickly though as she placed her hand hesitantly on top of Root's.

"You're cold." She commented tiredly.

"Well our room is still the coldest in the entire building." Root retorted with a lazy smirk.

"In twelve days we will back in New York, its actually going to seem warm compared to this." Shaw said with a scoff.

"I dont know..." Root started, clearly unsure. "Might be colder without you to keep me warm."

Shaw pursed her lips at this, clearly in deep thought as her brow creased. She was tapping Root's hand on her forearm with just the tips of her fingers almost like morse code. She didnt even seem aware she was doing it as she rolled her head to the side and looked down at Root. Her face was emotionless but she seemed to be studying Root's. Finally her hand stilled, placing her palm completely over Root's hand. She licked her bottom lip before glancing down to their hands.

"Who says I wont be there?" She finally breathed out in deep tone, her eyes refusing to meet Root's.

"You dont get attached sweetie." Root said without any accusation or bitterness, just maybe a little disappointment under her usual whimsical tone.

"No, I dont." Shaw agreed as she met Root's eyes. "But, I dont want you away from me."

"Well...I probably wouldn't have accepted it even if you did." Root said breaking the tension as she smiled to herself rolling onto her back.

"You have always been a pain the ass." Shaw remarked with her own small smile as she reached behind her to turn off the light before settling all the way back onto the cot.

Root leaned forward as soon as Shaw was settled in and kissed her firmly on the lips. Shaw mumbled something rude against her lips before finally giving into it as she reached out to grab the hackers hip almost painfully. In return Root bit her bottom lip harder than necessary making Shaw push her onto her back as she straddled the taller woman, pulling back as she ran her tongue over her bruised lip. Root started to reach out to her only to have Shaw grasp her hands and gently pushing them down above her head.

"You really thought I'd ever give this up?" Shaw asked in weirdly playful husky tone.

"Well, sweetie, you are a little hard to read." Root said breathlessly as she smirked up at the smaller woman.

"Let's see if I can make it clear to you then." She said with a wolfish smile as she leaned down to capture Root's mouth against her own.

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The next morning, Root couldnt contain her smile as she tiredly wandered to the kitchen area for coffee. She was relieved that Shaw was finally sleeping again after their little talk. It brought a nice feeling, knowing that the smaller woman had been having as hard of a time with the idea of what would happen when they were back in the city. Root made her face go to a neutral expression as she entered the room. Everyone was still sad about Michelle so she had to play her part too. That reminded her, she had to get food for Michelle, damn she thought, a small pout coming to her bottom lip. After a few minutes of awkward small talk she was able to get two cups of coffee and sneak away with some food.

Shaw was still fast asleep, her face buried in her arm as Root turned on the light with her elbow due to her full arms. The hacker placed Shaw's coffee and breakfast down with her own on top of the desk. She opened her laptop and dialed out to Finch over the satellite, before grasping her coffee cup with both hands and let out a yawn. She squinted a little at the screen before finally relenting and pulling her glasses on that she had beside her computer. Running a hand through her hair she kicked her legs up on the desk, careful not to put them in the food. Finch finally appeared on the screen, wide eyed and concerned as always.

"Ms. Groves, is everything okay?" He asked in concern.

"Fine, just checking in." She hummed as she sipped her coffee.

"Ah, how are the captives doing?" He asked, the distaste for the term clear in his tone.

"Dont worry Harold, they are alive. Neither has said much." Root said conversationally as her attention was distracted by Shaw moving around.

"Is that Finch?" Shaw asked, her voice heavy with sleep as she sat up on the cot.

"Yeah, you need him for something?" Root asked completely ignoring the screen as she looked at Shaw.

"Yeah," Shaw mumbled stumbling off the cot and over to the computer, Root raised her hand to try and remind her that she was still in her underwear and a tank top, but it was too late. "Finch, Markov let a name slip yesterday...you still there?"

Shaw looked at the screen in confusion, as Finch had quickly covered his camera. Root let out a small chuckle as she gently gestured to Shaw's very exposed self. Shaw hissed out a few swear words, followed by something along the lines of how ridiculous it was to be worried about modesty right then. She pulled on pants and slipped on a less see through shirt, before walking back over and making a shooing motion to Root who slipped out of the seat.

"It's safe Harold." Root said gently as she tried to control her smile.

"Nothing you havent seen before Finch, Jesus." Shaw grumbled as she sat down, the small man appeared back on screen.

"You were saying about a name Ms. Shaw?" Finch said in irritation as he ignored the last comment.

"Alex Alkaev, I think he is his contact - thanks." Shaw mumbled to Root as she handed her coffee before turning her attention back to the screen. "Might help us figure out who he is supposed to be meeting once this storm passes."

"We will look into it." Finch assured already seemingly busy typing away.

"Right, let us know." Shaw said gruffly as she glanced at Root in curiosity as the hacker gathered things.

"Take care of yourselves, we will be in touch." He said with genuine care before the screen went blank.

"I have to go take Michelle something to eat...I kind of forgot last night." Root said somewhat bashfully as she slipped on a long sleeve shirt. Shaw nodded as she watched Root collect the food and head for the door.

"Wait," Shaw said suddenly standing up. "Take her this shit, I'll take the bagel."

Root smiled at her in adoration as she handed Shaw the bag with the rare bagel in it before taking the container with a bland nutrition mix in it. She held up a finger in thought as she remembered she should probably give her water too before grabbing a bottle from the desk. Shaw was eagerly eating the bagel as she finally left. She still wondered why the hell she had gotten Michelle, which required going out into the snow, while Shaw got the nice cozy supply closet captor. With a sigh she forced herself to go deal with it.


	11. Chapter 11

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AN: Okay, so this chapter is really just fluff before the final chapter of them at the facility before heading back to the city. Thanks for all the kind reviews and follows the last chapter! Sorry for any mistakes...

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Over the last week Root had become much more affectionate with Shaw. The smaller woman was doing her best to adjust to it, she didnt mind necessarily, but wasnt sure how to reciprocate. Luckily Root really didnt seem to expect it. She didnt even seem to aware she was doing it most of the time. Things like this would have really irritated Shaw before the last two months of being stuck together. If it were anyone but Root, Shaw wouldnt have hesitated in breaking their arm for trying to touch her. Root wasnt needy about it and it was a pleasantly alien feeling for both of them most of the time.

Shaw had agreed to play chess with Root, she was severely regretting it now however. They were both at a state of great boredom, so much so that this had evened seemed like a good idea at the time. Root was winning, of course, and Shaw was not good at losing. It had been one of only two board games in the main sitting area of the facility. They had both wandered over for lunch and found it empty as usual so sat down at the table there just to have a break from their room. Shaw had actually been the one to spot the games and made an offhanded comment on how she didnt understand Finch and Root's interest. This had set Root off on a long tangent about the game and how it should be right up Shaw's tactical mind, then insisted they play a friendly game...at least, it had started friendly.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Shaw seethed out as she saw yet another one of her pieces seized by Root.

"I told you not to move it there." Root said with a tsk but seemed very pleased with herself.

"Yeah, last time you said that I ended up falling into your trap and lost my knight!" Sameen growled as she banged her hand on the table in irritation as she huffed in indignation at Root's smirk, turning her head away.

"I like seeing you all fired up Sameen, does wonders for you." Root said in almost purr as she leaned her head on her hands to study the board.

Shaw was really resisting the urge to kick Root under the table. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her as hard as she could. The hacker for her part was way too happy about the state of the game. Now basically toying with Shaw as she took her time planning her next move. Shaw glanced down at the ground, noticing that one of the legs on the table they were playing at was loose. She stared at it and tried to resist the new urge that had hit her. It was petty and childish, but she really hated losing. As Root let out a little hum and moved her Queen, Shaw looked to the board, yep, there was no other option at this point. So Shaw pretended to be moving her chair up she kneed the leg of the table hard, and with a slight crack the entire table tipped sending the chess pieces flying. Root raised her arms in irritation as she looked over at Shaw who looked very pleased with herself now.

"Really?" Root asked trying to hold back a smile as she looked at Shaw.

"Flimsy table." Shaw said with a shrug as she stood up from her chair.

"Oh no, what happened here?" A older man said, the physicist here, as he came into the room.

"Hmm, just a little game of chess cut short by apparently a very unsteady table." Root said with a roll of her eyes as she went to go pick up the pieces.

Shaw for her part just tried to suppress a smile as she wandered into the kitchen area. The older man came over to try and help Root who was awkwardly trying to insist he need not to. He simply called her something along the lines of little lady and helped her anyways. As they stood up, she tried not to tense too much as the old man as he touched her lower back. It wasnt in a perv way, but more of a grandfatherly way. She just twisted away and gave a sharp thanks before going to put the game up in the box. He gave a little chuckle and nod as he walked to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. He found Shaw digging around for food still and smiled.

"You know," He said leaning in close to Shaw conspiratorially. "One of the techs keeps a secret chip stash on the top shelf there."

Shaw was tensed completely at the intrusion to her personal space but her face did shift to slight interest at the mention of food. He chuckled as she let out a quick short thanks, now eyeing the tall shelves. He patted her shoulder gently making her turn to give him with a murdering glare but he had already turned around. She clenched her fists and reminded herself she had more important things to tend to, junk food. The doctor wandered back over to where Root was just putting the game box away.

"You are the tech analyst who has been stuck here, we briefly met when you first got here, I am Dr. Dolton but I am usually stuck in the East lab. What was your name again?" He asked trying to strike up conversation as he sat down in one of the chairs.

"Sam." Root said shortly giving a small smile as she tried to walk away with that.

"How have you been spending your time here? Must be awfully bored." He said before she could escape.

"Mostly with my girlfriend. Right over there." She said with a shrug as she leaned her head toward the kitchen where Shaw was swearing at not being able to reach.

"Oh, must be a fun vacation for you two." He said looking over to Shaw in a slightly hesitant and worried expression as Shaw pulled out a knife from her boot to try and knock something off the tallest shelf.

"Certainly has been-" She started only to be interrupted by Shaw calling for her.

"She is quite the little firecracker isnt she?" The doctor asked awkwardly.

"That she is, I had better go give her a hand. Excuse me." Root said with a forced smile as she hurried over to the kitchen.

"If you say anything, I will hurt you...I cant reach." Shaw admitted with a glare, pointing to the top shelf.

Root pursed her lips together to keep from laughing at the smaller woman. She herself had to stand on her tippy toes to reach the shelf and couldnt quite see what she was supposed to be getting.

"What exactly am I trying to get here?" Root grunted out, placing her hand on the counter to give her some leverage.

"Father time over there said there were chips hidden." Shaw grunted almost embarrassed.

"Wait, I think I feel them." Root said as she pushed a bag of some sort of powder mix out of the way, unfortunately in doing so it came falling down and breaking open on top of Root.

Shaw couldnt even hold back a laugh at the sight. Root was outraged as she held her arms out to her side, turning to look at Shaw. Shaw bit her bottom lip to try and stop herself from smiling but it was no use. Root got her own small smirk however as a malicious gleam came to her flour covered eyes. Shaw's expression changed immediately as Root approached her.

"Root, no." She said sternly to no avail as Root grabbed hold of her, shaking her head to cover her in the powder as well.

Root pulled away to see Shaw looking both amused and murderous as she looked at Root in shock, her mouth open. Root cocked her head to the side with a winning smile despite still being filthy herself. Shaw raised an eyebrow in challenge as she scoffed at her before lunging for her. Root let out a yelp but started laughing as Shaw grabbed her as they both slipped to the ground in the slick dusted floor. Both of them were laughing at this point as Root rolled over to face Shaw who was genuinely smiling for once.

"You are so getting payback for this." Shaw grumbled as she sat up with a small smile still on her mouth.

"Hmm I am sure I will." Root said wistfully as she sat up and reached over to brush some of the white powder from Shaw's cheek.

Shaw let her lean in and kiss her firmly before she swatted away her hand making Root laugh. They both carefully climbed up and saw the old doctor trying not to look over at them. He didnt even have a real view due to the counter but clearly felt like he was intruding on a moment between the two women. It took them twenty minutes to sweep up their mess and Shaw only helped when Root finally gotten the bag of chips down and held them hostage until they were done.


	12. Chapter 12

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AN: So sorry for the long wait. This chapter isnt the greatest, as it is mostly just to wrap things up. Sorry for any mistakes and I will try to get the next chapter up in the next week where they are back in the city. Thanks very much to those who have left reviews and followed.

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They were now on their last day at the facility, tomorrow John would be arriving to help them get out with their new friends (captives) as they hoped they didnt get any unexpected company. Finch had charted a plane to fly in the next morning. Shaw was packing her sparse amount of things as Root lazily typed away at her laptop on the cot. She had tried to help with the packing but that hadnt gone well. Shaw kept going behind her and repacking things in a more organized fashion. So Root eventually just crawled up onto the cot to get out of the way. There had been a awkward silence all morning, neither was really sure what to say.

"You're awfully quiet today..." Shaw grumbled in a hushed tone as she moved to go ahead and pack the hackers bag.

"Hm, gee Sameen, are you actually complaining about me being quiet?" Root asked tiredly, giving her a lazy smile over her laptop.

"No," Shaw said pointedly as she ruffly folded a shirt before she got a slightly sheepish look. "I guess I have gotten used to your constant droning..."

Root smirked at the smaller woman as she closed her laptop and placed it down next to her on the cot. Sitting up to rest her head on her knees hugged to her chest, she looked at Shaw thoughtfully. Shaw was clearly uncomfortable with the new attention as she gave Root a brief scowl before grabbing another piece of laundry to fold.

"I am just eager to be back with Her." Root said with a wistful smile thinking about the Machine.

"Oh, yes, wont that be just great." Shaw said with a roll of the eyes. "I will just be happy to have some real food again. I would kill for a steak."

Root looked at Shaw with her usual charmingly annoying smirk, adoration clear in her eyes. Shaw glanced at her before finally growing tired of it and roughly throwing the shirt she had been folding in the hackers face. Root just chuckled as she pulled the shirt in her hands playing with it as she smiled thoughtfully.

"So, _She_ , must be ready to send you on a job as soon as we get back..." Shaw said almost casually as she avoided looking at Root.

"Probably." Root breathed out as she stretched out her legs. "You'll get a nice little break from me."

"Thank God." She grumbled but it sounded forced.

"It would be nice to get sent somewhere warm after this place." The taller brunette said with a thoughtful smile.

"Do you get any say in where you go?" Shaw asked in curiosity.

"Not really, She is very considerate most of the time though." The hacker nodded playing with the shirt she had rested on her stomach.

Shaw scoffed at that and decided not to respond. Tossing the last of Roots now folded clothes in her bag the small women tossed the bag on the ground next to her own. Placing her hands on her hips she scanned the room to make sure she wasnt missing anything. Once she was satisfied she hadnt she walked back to the cot and nudged Root over before slumping down to sit on the side. Root reached out and ran her hand down Shaw's back appreciating the lean muscle she felt. Shaw felt a nervous energy radiating through her. She knew it was because the following day was hovering about them and bringing them closer to having to go back to their real world.

"You going to miss me Sameen?" Root asked cheekily, a lazy smile on her lips.

Shaw just let out an annoyed grunt in response as she purposefully rolled her eyes. Root just grinned to herself as she let herself enjoy a lazy day with Shaw. She knew tomorrow it would not last.

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John's expression was neutral as he sat in the turbulence ridden plane despite the fact he had been feeling sick for the last hour. They were making their final approach to the small strip of landing area by the facility. Shaw and Root were supposed to be ready with their captors, but none of them were holding their breath that they wouldnt end up with other visitors. They knew that Michelle and Markov werent working alone and now that there was a window to fly into the facility it would only make sense that they had connections of their own on the way.

John gripped the arm of his seat tightly as they began descending to the ground, the plane rocking back a forth. After a bumpy skidding stop, they finally came to a stop on the snow packed strip of land. John let out a gruff set of instructions to the pilot and as smoothly as possible stumbled out of the plane gripping his bag tightly in his hand. After trudging through the wiping chilled wind, he slipped into the facility under the ruse of working with Shaw to take missing persons reports and to pick them up.

"Enjoying the weather John?" Root asked wistfully as John came into the room, his face red from the cold.

"It looks like you two have been...cozy." John deadpanned glancing at the small room with the cot now folded in the corner.

"Body heat is the best way to stay warm after all-"

"Root." Shaw cut her off with a pointed look as she followed into the room before diverting from the warning. "Is Markov ready to go?"

"Yeah sweetie, all set." Root said with a slightly annoyed gleam to her eyes.

"How are we getting them to the plane?" John asked clearly unamused at having to be there.

"You take the one outside. Root and I will get the other one." Shaw grumbled pushing their bags unceremoniously into John's arms.

"We going to have any problems with your coworkers here?" John asked as he slipped the bags over his shoulder.

"About that, for us to get Markov out, we need you to hold a mandatory security meeting to discuss the disappearance of the dead researcher so we can cart him out without any wandering eyes." Root gleamed as she handed John a fake ID she had made up that matched Shaw's security clearance cover. "Make it convincing."

John just grunted in response as he slipped the cover security clearance badge over his neck. He totted their luggage back out to the plane while Shaw went to go gather all the faculty in the main room for a security briefing. Root meanwhile slipped back to the storage closet holding Markov who was soundly drugged, passed out on the floor. The tall brute of a man was pushing close to 300 pounds making their task a little more difficult. The only thing with wheels Root could find was a cart covered in toilet paper rolls and cleaning supplies. Tipping the car she dumped all the supplies to the ground before grabbing hold on Markov's legs and trying to hoist his body toward the cart. Shaw slipped into the room with perfect timing as she saw Root trip over her own feet at the weight of the man, run into the cart and fall on her ass.

"What the hell are you doing? You want to try and make some more noise?" Shaw scolded walking over to look at Markov.

"He is heavier than I thought." Root grumbled as she picked herself with a grunt.

"There is no way he is going to fit on that anyways." Shaw said almost amused.

"Well I am open to other suggestions." The hacker scoffed placing her hands on her hips.

"I dont know how long we have, Reese isnt exactly gripping everyones attention with his talk." The smaller agent said looking around for an alternative.

"Surprising, the lap dog is usually so eager to please...or maybe thats just for Harold." Root mumbled mostly to herself.

Shaw marched out of the supply room before wheeling in a rolling chair. Root raised an eyebrow at the chair but shrugged as she relented to their limited options. They each grabbed one of the mans arms before hoisting him up as much as they could and dragging him onto the chair. This was particularly challenging due to their height differences. Markov's height made it necessary for Root to lift his legs while Shaw pulled the chair. They were moving as fast as possible, the wheels of the chair squeaking as they moved with the strain of the mans weight. Unfortunately there was only one hall that led to the exit and it went right by the main room.

"Shh, Root." Shaw seethed out as the hacker let out a grunt as she tried to keep the unconscious mans legs up.

Root rolled her eyes as she hoisted his legs up further, unfortunately this caused his body to slip down as Shaw pulled the chair sending his body down to the floor. John could barely see them from where he was standing at the front of the room trying to keep everyones attention. His eyes widened slightly as he watched Shaw scolding Root, her arms waving in frustration. He started talking more rapidly about mostly nonsense as he waited for them to get past.

"Okay, screw this. Lets just drag him." Shaw whispered with a glare.

"Seriously?" Root asked as Shaw grabbed an arm.

"Just grab a fucking arm and pull, Root." The smaller woman demanded.

Root tossed her arms up but then reached down to grab his other arm. Between the two of them they were able to drag his fairly quickly past the room of people. Bumping into one another as they scurried backwards pulling him, Shaw had a murderous glare while Root seemed almost amused. John let out a sigh as he finally watched them go out of sight. He cleared his throat and asked if there were any questions. Everyone looked back at him in confusion, half of what he had been saying made little sense and was just a jumbled speech about anything he could think of relating to safety.

"My associate took everyones statements regarding the recent disappearances of two of your researchers. We will be looking into the matter. Uh, stay safe." John finished before awkwardly walking out of the room.

John finally caught up to Root and Shaw near the exit. Root was holding her lower back as Shaw was about ready to murder someone as she rolled her arms. Markov was passed out cold on the ground and they were in the middle of a argument about how to get him through the snow outside. John walked up with a disinterested look.

"Great, get the helper monkey to help you." Root said in irritation as she rolled her eyes at Shaw.

"Fine. Reese, grab his arms, I will get his legs." Shaw demanded almost shoulder checking the man as she walked next to him.

"You two were doing so well though." Reese said with the smallest of smirks as he walked over to grab Markov's upper body.

Shaw glared yet again as she hoisted his legs up under her arms, John holding him under his arms. Between the two of them they were able to get him up as Root opened the door, a rush of cold wind bursting in. As they huddled out the door, Root silently thanked whatever entity for the oblivious nature of all the researchers at the facility. It was a miracle none of them had challenged all the weird occurrences that they had been involved in even thought it was clear the lot of the faculty werent exactly buying their covers but werent interested enough in anything other than their research to do anything about it.

It took some time but they finally managed to get Markov into the small plane, shoved onto the floor. They still had to get Michelle, so Root waited with Markov while John and Shaw went back to deal with Michelle. Root was slumped into one of the seats as she waited opening her eyes when the satellite phone of the plane rang. The pilot answered it before looking back at her in confusion and yelling "it's for you". She smiled almost manically as she took the phone whispering a hello as the familiarity of the machine chimed in her ear.

Meanwhile, John hoisted Michelle over his shoulder while Shaw followed, her weapon drawn. The visibility was starting to deteriorate as the late afternoon rolled around. It made it difficult to know if they were alone out in the snow. In a split second Shaw practically tackled John and Michelle to the ground as her intuition churned her stomach. A snowmobile sped into sight a moment later coming to a stop near them, two men getting off as they made their way toward the facility. Luckily they hadnt seen them drop to the ground. Shaw considered letting them go for a moment, they probably wouldnt kill anyone in the facility, but she knew that Finch would frown about the probably assumption.

"Get her to the plane, I will deal with them." Shaw told John as they lumbered back up.

"You sure, might be a little out practice." He teased earning a glare as she simply pulled her gun out.

He just smirked as he hoisted Michelle back over his shoulder and stalked off. Shaw pulled at the edge of her winter hat before stalking back toward the facility. She silently stalked up behind the two men who were in the middle of trying to break into the door that only opened with a key card or from the inside. It gave Shaw the perfect excuse to pull out her gun and shoot them each in the leg. With a satisfied smile she bent down and dug into one of the groaning men's pocket for ID. Russian, she had figured. She decided to just leave them there, someone else could deal with them now she figured. As she was about to head back to the plane she was struck against the head falling to the ground. After a second of recovery she rolled over going for her gun but the man above her already had a gun pointed to her head. A single shot fired out and Shaw closed her eyes tightly. She didnt feel anything though except for the would be murderer slumping down on top of her. Pushing him off she quickly stood up and rolled her eyes as she saw Root sauntering over, a gun in her hand.

"A little out of shape there sweetie." Root teased as Shaw stood up.

"Next person to say that to me is going to get a personal demonstration." Shaw bit out as she dusted off the snow on her legs, clearly a little put off from her screw up.

"You can demonstrate your methods on me anytime." Root purred out before her face turned more serious. "More are coming, we should get going."

"Machine back on?" Shaw asked knowing that expression as they both started back toward the plane.

"Linked to the satellite phone." Root explained tapping her ear.

Shaw nodded, they werent alone anymore and she wasnt sure how she felt about it. They finally all got in the plane and after another generous bribe to the pilot took off. Michelle and Markov were both simply tossed on the ground. John was up in the copilots seat while Root and Shaw were huddled in the small two person fold seats in the back. Root bit back a small smile as she felt Shaw's hand on her leg as they sat on the rocking plane. Eventually they were able to get onto the main land where eventually Markov and Michelle were dropped off at the nearest FBI building, their true identities secured in their pockets to make it really easy for them to figure out they were terrorists.

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	13. Chapter 13

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AN: I got a review that mentioned how many typos there are in this story and I just want to apologize again for those. I dont ever proofread this since I just do it for fun but hope it isnt too much of a disruption. I know there are a lot and I know that typos can really pull you out of a story. Anyways, thanks for any reviews and follows! Also, this chapter doesnt really have much happen as I am mostly using it for setup as how they are starting to find a new routine.

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Shaw was laying in her bed fast asleep after a two day exhaustive number. She was more than ready to sleep for at least eight hours straight but the piercing sound of her cell phone pulled her out of sleep. She blindly reached out to her night stand to grab her phone. Unknown was all it said, but she knew right away who it was. She hesitated for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to answer it. Ultimately she couldnt resist and swiped her finger across the screen.

"Sorry to wake you sweetie." Root's voice invaded her sleep riddled mind.

"Where are you this time?" Shaw grumbled tiredly.

"Back in the city in about fifteen minutes actually." The hacker said almost gleefully.

"You're home?" Shaw asked now completely awake as she sat up in bed running her hand through her hair.

"Yeah Shaw, I am home." Root whispered fondly.

"You on a job?" Shaw asked trying and failing to be disinterested.

"Just finishing one up." Root hesitated asking what she wanted to.

"Need any backup?" The tired agent asked.

"No, just tying up one loose end." The hacker said mischievously.

"Am I going to see you after?" Shaw asked quietly but cold.

"Is that an invitation?" Root asked with amusement but the nerves obvious underneath.

"I am going back to sleep...you know how to break in." Shaw added the last part without much bite before hanging up the phone and slumping back down on her bed.

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Root slipped into Shaw's apartment with relative ease. She stepped down from the window frame and immediately felt at ease being in the presence of Shaw's apartment. Shaw was still soundly asleep and Root decided against waking her up. Pulling off her jacket she let out a little hiss from the knife wound she had received yesterday to her arm and side. They had been back just under two weeks now and the Machine had her back running around since the night they had touched back down in the city. Root contemplated slipping into bed with the sleeping agent, but wasnt sure Shaw would appreciate it. She stood there for a few minutes before realizing Shaw would definitely not appreciate waking up to see her staring at her. So she pulled off her jeans and slipped into the bed with just boy shorts and her shirt on.

"Your feet are freezing." Shaw breathed out tiredly, startling Root.

"Didnt mean to wake you." Root said apologetically as Shaw scooted over slightly to Root room.

"You didnt." Shaw said with a yawn as she leaned over to turn on her bedside lamp.

Root was about to question her when she realized what Shaw meant as she got up to stumble toward her bathroom. The hacker yawned stretching out across the bed as she relished the feel of sleeping in a real bed again, especially a bed that smelled like Shaw. When the smaller woman came back out she climbed back in bed while giving Root a unceremonious shove to make room. After turning off the light she let out a yawn as she rolled over to look at Root. Both of them were tired to the point of hardly being able to keep their eyes open. Root stopped fighting it as her eyes fell closed, but Shaw continued to watch the other woman. Her face was void of emotion as she watched her but she felt curiously content with her there.

Shaw thought about reaching out to her but that just wasnt going to happen, it felt too foreign for Shaw. She let out a sigh as she realized how foreign all of this used to be for her. She rolled over on her back not able to take looking at the sleeping hacker any longer. After two months of sleeping next to her, she no longer felt uncomfortable at the intimacy but that in itself was disconcerting for her. She was more comfortable with the hacker around, that was the extent of her affection, but to Sameen that was more than she had ever felt around another person. She was finally about to fall asleep when the hacker rolled almost on top of her in her sleep. Shaw scowled but resisted the urge to push her off as Root's arm tightened its hold on her waist. Even though they now had a full sized bed to share, Shaw realized it was always going to be like they were still stuck on the small cot together with how she cuddled. She let her arm fall on top of Root's that was laying across her stomach as she finally fell asleep.

Root startled awake about two hours later as the Machine began talking to her. Shaw in turn groaned and tried to hide her head in her pillow. Root was always far too understanding, and almost cheerful about the machine waking her up in the middle of the night. I guess when its your God, it feels a little different. Root mumbled a few affirmative statements before it was quiet and the hacker was laying beside her running her hand through her hair. It was clear she wasnt going back to sleep but wasnt awake yet. She finally pulled back the blanket and swung her legs over the side to sit up.

"What time is it?" Shaw mumbled from her pillow.

"About four, go back to sleep." Root said sympathetically as she stood up and stretched her arms out.

"You need backup?" She asked turning her head to watch Root in the darkness.

"No need. I just need to use your computer for a moment." The hacker said through a yawn making her way in the darkness via the Machines guidance to where Shaw had her computer.

Shaw had grumbled a help yourself as she slumped back down in the bed with a yawn but not going back to sleep. She heard Root digging into her closet to get the laptop that Finch had insisted she have despite the fact she never used it. She could hear the hacker struggle to set it up and turn it on before she started typing away. The smaller agent waited in bed, comfortably tired as she listened. She was just beginning to drift back to sleep when Root slipped back into bed. As her legs brushed against Shaw's short clad ones, Sameen recoiled slightly at how cold they were. Root didnt even bother with the pretense of having fallen asleep and simply cuddled into Shaw ignoring her half hearted attempts at protest.

"What was that about?" Shaw asked finally just giving into the close proximity.

"Just a little reconnaissance for my new project." The taller woman mumbled tiredly into Shaw's neck.

"That just had to be done at four in the morning?" Sameen complained.

"It was time sensitive. Now go back to sleep." Root said in almost a pleating tone.

Shaw was quiet for a moment, internally debating on whether or not to ask what she really wanted. She knew if she said what she wanted to then Root would get that smug satisfactory look. She could feel Root relaxing against her and let out a sigh before licking her bottom lip and going for it.

"Are you leaving soon?" She asked in a small, cold voice.

"Dont worry sweetie, this latest project is keeping me in the city for a while." Root said in her flirty tone that made Shaw want to simultaneously kiss her and hit her.

"Give me a little warning before you go this time." Shaw said as almost a disinterested command.

Root smirked and leaned up on her elbow to look down at Shaw in surprised amusement. Shaw scowled further as she wished she could turn over but was being blocked by Root's weight leaning into her side. The hacker grinned and bent down to kiss Shaw who stiffly accepted it before eventually easing into it. Her hand found Root's hip and gripped it tighter than necessary before rolling them over so she was now on top of Root. She grabbed Root's wrists and brought her arms above her head making the hacker gently laugh, which only irritated her further as she captured her lips to stop her. It would never stop being confusing how Root could make her feel such conflicting feelings at once. Maybe that's why they worked though.

"I thought you were tired." Root breathed out against her lips.

"Just shut up." Shaw said equally breathlessly as she kissed Root deeper.

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In the morning Shaw woke up alone in bed and sighed. Root must have left again she suspected. She sat up stretching her neck before reaching down to the floor to grab her clothes that had been discarded hours before. Pulling on her clothes she yawned patting along to the bathroom only to open the door and see none other than Root. She was brushing her teeth seemingly having just gotten out of the shower and now standing there in her underwear and bra. Shaw paused with a stone expression though feeling surprise. Root looked at her with a mouth on toothpaste foam giving her a little wink.

"Be out of your way in a minute." She said finally as she rinsed her mouth out.

"What happened?" Shaw scolded suddenly as she noticed the injuries on Root's arm and waist, angry she hadnt realized them before.

"Knife fight." Root said with a shrug.

"I am cleaning those." She said stubbornly as reached for the medicine cabinet to get her medical supplies.

"It's fine sweetie." The hacker half protested but let Shaw go to work anyways.

"You wouldnt scar so damn much if you ever cleaned and dressed your wounds correctly." The smaller woman said plainly.

"That's why I have you." Root teased before letting out a hiss as Shaw cleaned her side.

"Hmm well I live to serve." Shaw mocked before roughly applying gauze to the slash smirking at Root's protest.

"You are lucky I like it when you're rough." She flirted half heartedly but still getting a small smile from Shaw.

"Done." The smaller woman said moving to clean up everything.

"I am going to go get us some coffee." Root said with her confident stride as she leaned down to kiss Shaw on her head before strutting out to the bedroom.

"Get me a bear claw!" Shaw yelled after her with an eye roll before going to get in the shower herself.


	14. Chapter 14

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AN: Super short chapter, I know. Sorry, I just wanted to get something up and thought I'd post the intro to their next little adventure. Thanks for reviews and follows!

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Root had been secretive, or at least dodgy, about what the Machine had her doing in the city but Shaw didnt really mind. Root had been there for over a week with only one out of town trip for a night. Shaw was back to working numbers with John and Fusco. Root continued to keep odd hours so the agent was never sure when she would show up at her place, or in what condition. Just that Monday the hacker had shown up in a plumbers uniform, complete with hat, and a name tag of Bertha. The following Wednesday saw her show up drunk and singing quietly to herself (badly) in a cocktail dress. The injuries were a whole other concern, most of them remained minor though.

As of now, Shaw was down in the abandoned subway at Finch's computer relaying information to Reese who was in the middle of trying to get a number out of a sticky situation. They had been working this for the last 24 hours and this was the fist time she had been able to sit down for a extended period of time. She wondered if Root had broken into her apartment already or if her all knowing God had already tipped the hacker to the fact she wasnt there. Her question was answered as Root came sauntering down the stairs, takeout bags in hand, for once she was wearing her normal attire. She smiled at Shaw who simply stared at her as she continued listening to Reese through the ear piece perched in her ear.

"I got you a sandwich." Root whispered, placing the bag down on the desk in front of Shaw before leaning onto it herself.

Shaw looked almost feral as she heard this and immediately tore into the bag to get the food. She took a big bite of the sandwich and hummed her appreciation. She could hear Reese scolding her for eating right then but she just tuned him out. They were relatively in the clear now anyways. Root smirked before reaching out and taking the earpiece from Shaw who tried to protest through a full mouth. Root slipped it into her ear with a smug look.

"Right, left, down two floors, end of the hall, out to the alley, blue malibu with keys, all clear." Root said with the help of the Machine.

"Got it." Reese rough voice said shortly.

Root shrugged happily with a smile as she took the ear piece off and placed it down on the desk. Shaw rolled her eyes as she continued to eat. That just made Root smirk further as she stood up and pulled off her jacket tossing it on a empty chair before slowly looking around the room tiredly.

"What are you doing here?" Shaw asked finally breaking the silence as she leaned back further in her chair.

"Thought you could use some food, She said you had been at it for awhile." Root explained softly as a fond expression dawned on her face.

"You could have gone to my place, if you wanted." Shaw said awkwardly as she looked at the computer screen blankly.

"Now what would be the point in that if you arent there?" The hacker asked with a soft smile as she came back to sit on the desk this time closer to Shaw.

Shaw looked up at her with a hard stare. She wasnt sure what she was supposed to say but she knew Root wasnt expecting her to say anything. She never did, she was honest with Shaw for no other reason then to communicate. She wasnt trying to manipulate her or coax her into talking about feelings. That was something Shaw was eternally grateful for, everyone else had an agenda with her and were always let down when they realized she wasnt acting but genuinely didnt feel anything. In a rare surge of appreciation she reached out and placed her hand on Roots knee.

"The number should be done soon." She said looking up at Root blankly.

"She says they just got to the car. Reese is on his way to Finch now to get the number settled." Root said gently taking the smaller womans hand in hers.

"Reese, we good?" Shaw asked just for good measure as she held up the ear piece with her unclaimed hand.

"Yeah, you can go home." He said before adding a 'thank Root for me' and turning of his mic.

"He says thanks." Shaw grumbled in irritation as she tossed the ear piece back down.

Root grinned at the other woman's irritation as she continued to play with the smaller hand between her's. Shaw didnt pull away, at this point she had become used to Root's physical attention and just let it happen. Root's hand were remarkably softer than her own as gently ran her thumbs over the back of Shaw's freezing hands.

"Come on. I need some coffee." Root suddenly announced as she stood keeping one hand in Shaw's.

"Cant we just go home and sleep?" Shaw said with a groan not catching how she had phrased that as Root pulled her up and grabbed her jacket.

"Home together, huh?" The hacker teased as Shaw rolled her eyes.

"Dont read into that." Shaw groaned.

Root didnt release her hands as she led her out where it was early in the morning. True to her word Root led them to a coffee shop and ordered herself some coffee to go and Shaw a bagel so she would stop complaining. They walked back to Shaw's apartment which took longer than she wanted to deal with but it was also kind of nice. Root had reclaimed her arm, this time looping her arm through one of Shaw's, who had her hands securely in her jacket pocket. There wasnt a lot of noise this early in the morning and the dim daylight was just starting to show, the air was still cold.

"I may need to take a little trip later today." Root said sipping her coffee as they walked.

"What kind of trip?" Shaw asked disinterestedly.

"To Seattle, just for a day." The hacker said with a little yawn.

Shaw gave a small nod as she pursed her lips. She had the day off and had hoped Root would be around for some basic entertainment. Root glanced down at her brooding expression and smiled discreetly.

"You want to come with me?" The hacker said lowly.

"No, I want to sleep." Shaw said though her scowl lightened slightly.

"Hmm thats a shame. I kind of miss us working together." Root said with a small smile.

"What exactly would we be doing?" The smaller woman finally asked with a groan.

"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." The hacker practically beamed down at Shaw who rolled her eyes but nodded her head.

"I'll let Finch know." She grumbled avoiding looking up at Root.

"I promise I'll make it worth your while." The taller woman said suggestively which earned another eye roll but this time a small smirk accompanied it.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Sorry for the long wait and any mistakes! I am already about done with the next chapter so I hope to have it up in the next week. I have been rewatching POI and finally got inspired again for writing this, although I would be more inspired if we knew when its coming back. CBS did not include it in their schedule for the midseason shows so that was kind of a downer.

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Shaw scowled as she dropped their luggage she had been left carrying by herself on the ground of their hotel room. How she had come to be the carrying mule for both of their things made her pause as Root glided in behind her with only her purse. She hated that Root always managed to get the better of her without her realizing until after the fact. The hacker placed her bag down before flopping back on the queen bed with a impossible elegance. Shaw sat down hard next to her before moving to take off her shoes. It was raining in Seattle, surprise, and Shaw already felt the chill.

"We dont need to head out until tonight." Root whispered tiredly, one arm folded over her face.

"Good. I am dead." Shaw said with a grunt as she unceremoniously kicked her last shoe off before crawling all the way up on the bed next to Root.

"I told you to sleep on the plane." The lanky woman teased with a smirk.

"Your wandering hands made that a little hard Root." She scolded tiredly.

"You didnt exactly fight it sweetie." Root let out a 'umph' as Shaw elbowed her.

They were both dead to rights as they struggled to keep their eyes open. They ended up leaving to Seattle not long after they had made it back to Shaw's that morning. After a straight flight they had at least four hours before they needed to prepare for their mission Root figured. Shaw was already breathing deeply as sleep overtook her. The hacker, meanwhile, was in absolute bliss at laying their in sleepy haze and listening to the breathing of the smaller woman. They were barely touching shoulders but this still felt intimate to her. The warmth radiating off of her, the calm breathing and the simple ease with which she fell asleep next to her, was in such contrast to their generally hard relationship to everyone else.

Root reached her arm down across her waist and her hand found Shaw's rested between them on the bed. She didnt hesitate in gently curling the tips of her fingers around the smaller hand. Rolling onto her side she curled slightly next to the sleeping woman as well before taking one last look at her and closing her eyes. Root feel asleep in seconds but still smirked slightly in her sleep as Shaw rolled away from her, taking Root's hand along so she was turned to practically spoon her. They woke up next to one another like that nearly four hours before Root heard the familiar sound of the machine in her ear.

"I hear you." She whispered tiredly to quiet the machine.

Shaw was still asleep with her hand grasping Roots, who was still spooning her from behind. The hacker let out a sigh as she rested her forehead on the top of Shaw's head gently. She gave Shaw's hand a squeeze before gently untangling their hands. Rolling onto her back she stretched her arms out above her, her left arm feeling cramped after being awkwardly curled under her head for the last four hours. Shaw let out a sleepy grunt at Root moving away and turned so she was on her back pressed closely to Root. Opening her eyes glanced over to Root who looked equally as out of it at being woken up.

"Remind me why I agreed to come to Seattle with you instead of sleeping?" Shaw asked, her voice thick with sleep.

"I've missed you." Root whispered mostly to herself but Shaw heard her so she added, "I promised you will get to blow something up."

"I better." The other woman grunted out as she brought one hand up to push some hair out of her face.

"We better go get ready." The hacker said already sounding like her usual cheerful self that made Shaw want to hit and kiss her all at once.

"You still havent told me the plan." Shaw complained as she sat up while Root climbed out of the bed.

"About that, we are having to go undercover." Root said cryptically as she dug in her suitcase.

"As what?" Shaw demanded impatiently.

"David Berns designs and implements security software for military facilities all over the country. Recently David has decided to sell some extremely confidential information about our boys overseas to make some extra money, millions of extra actually. He is supposed to make the drop in Seattle sometime tomorrow. We need to get our hands on it first." Root explained as she held up a photo of the man she was talking about on her phone.

"So what, we stakeout the drop off location and then move in as undercover cops?" Shaw guessed with another yawn.

"The drop off location is too risky, She has come up with an alternative...David likes to have a little fun whenever he is in Seattle and away from his wife. He calls a escort service every time he is in town, tonight when your in his room you can get hold of his computer." Root said with a small smirk at the last part as she tossed Shaw the skimpy dress she had in one hand.

"No, why the hell do I have to be the hooker?" Shaw demanded as she death gripped the dress and clamored out of bed.

"You are more his type, besides while you are getting to his computer I am going to be breaking into the hotels safe he rents to make sure there isn't a backup." Root said obviously.

"This is bullshit. I thought you said we would be blowing something up." The smaller woman complained as she tossed the dress onto the bed as she stood in front of the hacker.

"After we deal with David, the group he was going to sell the information to still needs to be dealt with." Root said gently as she leaned down and kissed Shaw firmly before pulling back and pushing a pair of five inch heels in Shaw's arms. "And dont forget the hooker heels."

"You say the sweetest things." The small agent said with a grunt before tossing the shoes on the bed and pulling off her clothes to get into the dress before pausing when she saw Root staring. "Shouldnt you be getting changed?"

"So grumpy." Root teased with a mock pout and a childish voice as she grabbed her clothes and went to go shower with Shaw glaring after her.

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Shaw was feeling incredibly uncomfortable in the dress Root had picked for her. Not emotionally, but actual physical discomfort at how tight it was in certain areas. She knew the hacker had done it on purpose, she had even tried to call her out on it and demanded to wear something else. Root had simply pretended the Machine must have made a mistake and said they didnt have anything else suitable for the occasion. Shaw had even tried to put back on her normal clothes at which Root had turned up her nose and said no respectable hooker would show up to the job in that. So now here she was in the hotel lobby at the bar, waiting for David.

She would be more pissed if it werent for the fact that Root had been sent a electricians outfit by the Machine for her cover. Root had too tried to get out of wearing hers, saying that a electrician could wear what she usually wore. Shaw had contradicted her saying if the Machine sent it then it was probably for a reason and she had to girl up and wear it. So she had to leave wearing a very unattractive shade of green coveralls that were a bit baggy on her. Once she had tossed her hair up in a messy bun and put her glasses on, she was really quite a sight. Shaw would almost say it adorable if she ever used that word, which she didnt. It had put her in a slightly better mood for some reason (definitely not the cute reason...at least that what she was telling herself).

It had turned out Root was wearing a genuine pair of the hotels electrician coveralls and was able to get right in. Shaw smirked at Root relenting that she was right over the com stuck securely in her ear. She quickly tensed though as a hand came to rest next to hers on the bar. She looked up in anger before immediately softening her face as she saw it was their number. He wasnt unattractive but not Shaw's type. Not that she could really claim a type, at least she used to not be able to. Now if she thought about it, the only thing that came to mind was the annoyingly self confident hacker who was whispering for her to behave in her ear.

"You must be Monique." David said with a wide smirk as he glanced down at Shaw's very exposed chest.

"How did you know?" Shaw said in a flirty tone turning toward him on the bar stool.

"The dress of course. Plus, you are the most beautiful women at the bar and I only go with the most beautiful." He said in a sleazy self confident tone.

"Hmm, I bet." She said with a smile.

As David turned to order a drink Shaw's smile immediately faded as she turned her head to the side and whispered to Root to shut up. She had started talking right when David introduced himself and it was making it almost impossible for Shaw to keep up her act. Root had chuckled at his dress comment and then scoffed at the most beautiful woman comment, saying something about 'is this guy serious'. Having your girlfriend, or whatever Root was, chirping in your ear while you tried to seduce a man made Shaw feeling awkward. She couldnt place why but she didnt feel so nonchalant about the situation.

"So, is Monique your real name?" David asked as he openly leered at her.

"Is Mr. Robinson yours?" Shaw asked cheekily as she discreetly used the distraction of her chest to drug his drink that he had placed down right next to hers.

He outwardly laughed at that and took a sip from his drink. Shaw smiled at him but behind it she was thinking how much she hated these social interactions. Granted this wasnt exactly a normal date seeing as how Shaw was undercover as a prostitute. Really though that didnt seem much different than a normal date to Shaw, at least the paying for sex part. Ultimately that always seemed to be what everyone was aiming to get to when they were dating. That had always been the case with her, she was never looking for marriage or even relationships. It was just a biological imperative she needed to meet and when she had to she would go through the tiring process of a date. Shaw wondered, not for the first time, what that made Root to her. She didnt want to just sleep with Root, that was a big part of it, but not all of it. She also wanted to shoot people and blow things up with the hacker. She even wanted Root around to just annoy her while they were watching TV at home.

"Sweetie, you might want to move this little date of yours along." Root chirped in her ear pulling her from her thoughts, making her realize David had been talking not that he seemed to care.

"-thats how I make most of my money. Along with some investments I have." This was the last of his bragging that Shaw actually heard.

"Thats very impressive." Shaw made herself encourage as she laid one of her hands on his arm.

"That's not the most impressive thing about me." He insinuated with a sleazy smirk.

"Why are we wasting time down here then?" The small woman asked seductively.

" _Something tells me nothing going on down there is going to be that impressive. Other than you that is." Root said teasing her._

"Lets head up to my room." He said clearly pleased with himself as dropped some money on the bar and held out his arm for her.

She smiled and stood up, curling her hand around his bicep as he led her toward the elevators. When the elevators doors closed, David didnt waste any time at getting handsy. Shaw gritted her teeth as his hand groped her ass. As soon as they got to the room he kissed her roughly but she forced herself to laugh and pull away playfully as she pulled on his tie. She seductively pulled him towards the bed pulling his tie a little tighter. Once they got to the bed he pushed himself up against her back as his hand slid down toward the hem of her dress. Clearly the drug she dropped in his drink wasnt going to kick in in time. So she decided to just do it herself and in one swift movement pulling his tie hard with her left hand as her right elbow flew back connecting with his head. He stumbled back and she didnt waste any time turning around to finish the job with a swift hit to the head.

"Root, I had to help sleeping beauty get his sleep. What am I looking for, he wont be out for long." Shaw asked already searching around the room.

"Get his phone, computer and any tablets or external drives. I am just about in his safe now." Root said in a tone that Shaw recognized as her trying to concentrate.

"You sound a little flustered." Shaw said with a smirk.

"Hmm well lets say things on my end arent as exciting as yours sound." The hacker said almost with a huff.

It suddenly dawned on Shaw that Root was irritated, jealous even of David. She felt a twinge of joy at the thought of Root feeling jealous over her. She smirked to herself as she grabbed his computer, popping out the hard drive and grabbing a flash drive tucked in the side of his bag. After a quick stop to grab his phone she left the room. She started down the back stairwell to head out the back staff entrance. Pausing for a moment after almost falling because of her heels she swore under her breath before pulling them off and continuing to jog down. She found herself thinking about Root being jealous of her with David. Normally that would just be annoying, but she found she kind of liked it from Root. When she saw Root waiting for her at the bottom floor still in her coverall, she couldnt help herself and marched up to the hacker.

"Ready-" Root was cut off by Shaw pulling her down roughly by the neck and kissing her soundly.

"Let's go." Shaw said gruffly, a bit embarrassed at how much she wanted the taller woman.

"Lead the way." Root said in a dreamy voice as she smiled at Shaw genuinely.

Root followed behind her not even trying to refrain from smiling. Shaw for her part was biting her bottom lip to keep from smiling herself. Once they got out to the back alley they quickly hailed a cab, heading back to their hotel room. Once in the cab, Root took the hard drive and flash drive from Shaw to put it into her electricians bag. When they got back to the hotel room, Shaw went to go change into her regular clothes while Root went to work trying to crack his phone and find out where the drop was supposed to take place the next day. When Shaw came back out in jeans and a t-shirt she sat down on the bed behind Root. She noted Root was so preoccupied she hadnt bothered to change out of her coveralls today.

"Are we living together?" Shaw asked quietly, a stern look on her face.

"What?" Root asked in surprise as she turned around in her chair with a look of confusion.

"Dont make me say it again." The smaller agent said with groan.

"I um, are you asking me?" Root said her voice taking on a slightly teasing tone.

"Forget it." Shaw said in irritation standing up, but Root grabbed her arm gently with a small chuckle as she pulled her back to stand in front of her.

"Sorry, sorry. I just wasnt expecting that." The hacker said with an apologetic smile.

"Are we?" Shaw asked again, clearly not amused, making Root realize that this was her way of asking.

"Yes, if you dont mind me coming and going." Root said with a nod and adoring smile.

"Fine...I will clear some space in the closet for your weapons when we get back." Shaw said and Root thought it was the most romantic thing she had ever heard.

Root smiled up at her from her chair and Shaw rolled her eyes before pulling away with a 'get back to work'. The hacker couldnt contain her smile as she went back to cracking the phone. It only took her a couple of minutes after that to hack it and get the location of the drop the next morning. Root tiredly got up and looked over at Shaw who was already stretched out on the bed, dozing off. She kicked off her shoes and climbed up on the bed next to Shaw, still in her coveralls. Shaw cracked open a eye before rolling over onto her side to look at the hacker. Root laid down on her side looking at Shaw with a yawn.

"When is the drop?" Shaw asked tiredly.

"4 AM." Root said with a sigh as she let her eyes close.

Shaw gave a little nod that Root didnt see. She reached out tiredly and gently pulled on Roots hip to get her closer. Root smiled slightly as she scooted closer to the smaller women. Shaw leaned in and kissed Root once she was close enough. Even in her tired state Root reciprocated eagerly. As Shaw bit her bottom lip Root felt herself wake up as she grasped Shaw's hip tightly. It didnt take long for things to grow heated, afterwards they both fell asleep soundly not to be woken up again until the Machine sounded off in Root's ear at 3 in the morning.

They had barely gotten down to the waterfront of Seattle to intercept what ended up being a yacht for the drop off location. Shaw did in fact get to blow up half a dock and steal the said yacht so she was happy as a clam by the time they were back on a plane home by 10 in the morning. Root herself couldnt shake the ecstatic, warm feeling of knowing she was going back to home. Not just a place she would be staying at until her next trip, but a actual home. Even better still, a home with Shaw. Her grumpy, hungry, weapon mad Sameen.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Short chapter, I know, but I wanted to get something up. Next chapter should be a little more fun as Shaw goes undercover and has to call Root for help. Sorry for any mistakes and for the long time its been taking me to get these chapters up.

Shaw found Root to be as close to the perfect roommate as she was ever going to get. One of the best things about her was that she wasnt clingy. They could both be off to their separate numbers without Shaw ever having to worry that Root wouldnt understand. Even when they were both home, there was never any forced conversation. Even when Root was feeling particularly chatty, she never forced Sameen to participate. They had been living together for about a month with little problems beyond Root still being messy. The last week however, Root had been off doing something for the Machine leaving Shaw to her own devices at the apartment. Mostly that had consisted of a thorough cleaning and leftover takeout. Shaw was always comfortable being alone and that really hadnt changed. She enjoyed when Root would be gone on her own missions, but surprisingly she also didnt mind having her back. Root was set to be home by tonight.

Root came into the loft looking completely exhausted. It was impossible for her long frame to look anything less than elegant even as she placed her bag down by the door and kicked off her shoes. Shaw was sipping a beer on the couch and glared slightly as she watched Root's shoes go flying off to land in the middle of the entranceway. She swallowed down her anger with another sip of beer when she saw how tired the hacker looked. Root gave her a weak smile as she hung up her coat and tiredly sauntered over to the couch. She slid down over the arm of the couch, her long legs left hanging off the side of couch arm while her head came to rest right next to Shaw's legs.

"You look like shit." Shaw said unceremoniously as she looked down at the hacker.

"Hmm thanks sweetie." Root said with a sigh as she tried to suppress a yawn, her eyes already slidding closed.

"You hurt?" The smaller woman asked disinterested but her eyes still scanning for injuries.

"A bruise here and there." Root dismissed.

Shaw nodded, satisfied that there wasnt anything that at least couldnt wait until later to deal with. Root was always so secretive about her injuries that it had become a routine for her to check her over. For now though she let Root rest as she brought her hand down to run it through the hackers long loose curls. Root let out a content sigh as Shaw's nails grazed against her scalp. It didnt take five minutes for her to fall asleep completely. Shaw sat absentmindedly watching what she thought might be the history channel, though she didnt care enough to find out. It was more just background noise to her as she really sat listening to the sound of Root's easy breathing.

The hacker had nightmares a few times a week, something Shaw had become accustomed to when they were stuck at the arctic facility. Usually it would involve Root waking up with a start and a confused panicked look on her face. Then she would want to get up which annoyed Shaw to no end even if she fully understood the desire. Over their time at the facility Root had gotten better about calming herself down without having to get up. Most of that had to do with Shaw though. One night when Root had had a particularly bad dream, Shaw had brought her hand up and rested it over her racing heart. Then she mumbled softly 'just focus on my hand, everything is okay' in a rough yet comforting tone only Shaw could. After that it had become a bit of a habit when Root would have a panic attack in her sleep.

Shaw had fallen asleep a couple hours after Root, both still on the couch. Shaw had brought her arm to rest along Root who was still spread out on her back while Shaw sat at the other end with her head lulled back. Root woke with a start as she practically flung herself off the couch in a panic. Shaw woke up momentarily confused before she noticed Root bringing herself to a sitting position as she ran a shaky hand through her now sweaty hair. Shaw sighed in irritation but scooted over so she was next to the hacker.

"Come on." Shaw said sternly but not harsh as she stood up taking Root by arm to come up with her.

"Sorry." Root said breathlessly as she rose to her feet weakly letting Shaw guide her back to the bed.

"Here. Sit down." Shaw ordered as she guided Root to sit on the side of the bed.

Going over to her dresser, she took out a pair of lounge pants and a white shirt. Walking back over to Root she helped the hacker get changed into the comfortable clothes. Neither of them spoke and Shaw didnt even attempt sympathy, it would fall flat and Root would know she was lying. Root preferred it this way. She didnt want Shaw to have to fake emotions with her and she certainly didnt want to be pitied. Instead Shaw did what she knew how to do to fix things. That is what Shaw did, she solved problems. So she helped Root change and get in bed. Once they were under the covers she could feel Root starring at the ceiling as she tried to control her breath. So she turned on her side and placed her hand over Root's heart.

"Just focus on my hand, its okay." Shaw said in a cool tone as she watched the side of Root's face without any expression.

Root slowly closed her eyes and did as Shaw said. The person she trusted more than anyone else. Of course that was easy since she didnt trust anyone else. She had the Machine and Shaw which to her was like holding all the worlds many problems in her hands. Shaw felt Root's breathing evening out and her body relaxing next to her. In a sense of ease she brought her hand up to cover Shaw's which drew Shaw's inquisitive stare as she looked at her now covered hand resting on Root's chest. To Shaw, things like this always felt like she was watching someone else's body doing these intimate gestures. She knew how it should feel, and in her own way this was the closest she would ever get to actually feeling them. It brought a sense of intimacy that Shaw could never quite grasp.

"What does it feel like?" Shaw asked, surprising even herself as her voice broke the silence.

"Your hand?" Root asked sleepily, her eyes still closed.

Shaw didnt respond, now unsure of what exactly she had meant. She applied a little bit of pressure with the tips of her fingers on Root's skin. Root's eyes fluttered open as she glanced over at Shaw's furrowed brows as she thought. Root lifted her hand off of Shaw's and reached over to run her thumb ever so slightly over the wrinkles of Shaw's brow. The smaller women relaxed her brow at the sensation and brought her gaze to meet Root's as she pursed her lips in confusion. She wanted Root to have sort of answer for her but she wasnt sure what she wanted to know to begin with.

"It's like the rush of going into a gun fight where every sense seems to be reacting on its own without you even being aware. Except when you touch me there is a quiet and I know I dont have to be afraid." Root mumbled in a scratchy tired voice.

"Does it always feel that way?" The curious agent asked blankly.

"No, with other people it can be nice but its not you." The hacker said honestly.

"It doesnt bother you that I dont feel anything?" Shaw asked without any concern in her voice.

"No. You are just different code." Root said placing her hand back over Shaw's.

Shaw could see what the feelings should be like, but she couldnt actually reach them. She wanted Root, she wanted her near her and she would protect her with her life. That alone was enough to make her recognize a deep sense of attachment to the hacker. Shaw expected Root to nap more but as she calmed down, the hacker seemed to be waking up. She was calmly running her finger tips over the back of Shaw's hand.

"I am hungry." Root said finally giving Shaw a smile.

"So go get food." Shaw grumbled.

"Go make me food." The taller woman teased nudging Shaw.

Shaw rolled her eyes and pushed Root as she got up. Root chuckled as she stretched out her long limbs. The smaller agent grumbled to herself as she heard her phone going off. Walking out to the kitchen she grabbed it off the counter and grumbled a 'what'. Root wandered out a moment later with a yawn giving Shaw a unseen quizzical brow as she found the agent arguing with whoever was on the phone. She pulled at the loose lounge pants she had on and walked around Shaw to get to the coffee, and maybe to listen in to the phone call.

"Fine." Shaw grunted in irritation before slamming her phone down on the counter.

"We need to go grocery shopping." Root said conversationally, mostly to irritate Shaw further.

"You go grocery shopping." Shaw huffed leaning back on the counter with her arms firmly crossed.

"Maybe I will just get takeout." Root said to herself as if she hadnt heard Shaw.

"That was Finch. I have to go undercover tomorrow morning." The smaller woman said bitterly.

"Mm?" Root hummed, pleased she got a reaction.

"As a high school teacher."

Root smirked at this as she tried to hold back a laugh at the image of her girlfriend having to deal with a classroom full of teenagers. She busied herself looking through takeout menus as she listened to Shaw complain about Reese not being able to do it as he had a number upstate.


	17. Chapter 17

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AN: Sorry for any mistakes and thank you for reviews/follows! This is a pretty simple chapter, hopefully should have the next one up soon.

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Shaw sat in the classroom full of disinterested teenagers slowly counting the number of ways she was going to make Finch pay for this assignment. Shaw hated everyone but she shared the general societal disdain for teenagers. Everyone except teenagers could see how horribly awkward and unfortunate they are. Shaw for her own had no intention of actually participating in any real interaction with the students in front of her. She had hoped the regular teacher would have simply left a video or something for them to watch. Her only real goal was to get eyes on the number and hack into their personal files. When she got to the school however she found that she was expected to give a hand out and assist with it.

She was filling in for the chemistry teacher and apparently had come highly recommended as a substitute in the science fields. The class was still coming in as she tried to tune out the mindless chatter about 'did you see her wearing my same sweater?' or 'I said hi to her earlier, oh my God I didnt know we werent talking to her anymore', while the boys alternated talking about their sports teams or latest conquests. She pulled her phone out under the desk she had her legs propped up on to text Root.

"Are you the new teacher?" A jocky looking guy asked making his friends snicker for no reason.

"Good deduction." Shaw grumbled in response without looking up from her phone.

"What's your name?" The kid tried again, looking to regain some cool points.

"Rule number one in my class kids, no talking. Period." She said as she stuck her phone back in her pocket and letting her legs fall to the ground.

"Please." One of the girls in the front said rolling her eyes.

Shaw stood up and walked over to the girls desk looking down at the uninterested kid.

"Get up." Shaw said coldly.

"What?" The girl asked in confusion.

"Are you challenged in some way? I said get up. Now." Shaw said still keeping her voice level.

The girl scoffed at Shaw but got out of the seat with her arms crossed in defense. Shaw pointed to the door and simply told her to get out. The girl looked at her her slightly surprised before Shaw grabbed her backpack, pushed it into her arms and told her once again 'out'. The girl mumbled bitch under her breath to keep face in front of the other kids but went.

"Anyone else decides to act smart can get out too. Do not waste my time." She said harshly as she walked back to her desk and slumped down into her chair.

The class was dead quiet for most of the hour after Shaw sent one more student out of the class. She handed out the worksheet and then sat down in her seat to watch over the kids. The next hour proved to be more difficult as there was a large group of boys in this class who didnt seem to respond to her initial threats. She tried separating them throughout the room, but to no avail. She could feel herself growing angrier and angrier. She could kill them and would feel nothing but relief but she knew that would compromise her mission. So she stepped into the small chemical office and decided to do what any good soldier knows to do, call for backup.

"Sam?" Root's voice answered in confusion.

"Root. I am going to kill them." Shaw said with undertone of anger Root knew very well.

"They are just kids sweetie." The hacker said with a sigh.

"Just come in as my teachers assistant or something." The small agent said as she paced the small room.

"You deal with armed assassins and terrorists on regular basis but cant handle a bunch of sixteen year olds?" Root teased making Shaw roll her eyes.

"Do you really want me to deal with them the same way I deal with terrorists?" Shaw practically growled.

"You have a gun on you? How did you get it...never mind." Root said with a small laugh.

"I just need you here to keep me from killing one of them and help me get eyes on the number." Shaw said trying to keep a small smile from her lips at Root's laugh.

"Stop you? I am liable to help you." The other woman mumbled to herself.

"I will let you paint the apartment." Shaw finally said closing her eyes tightly in irritation.

"Really? And you will help me?" Root asked with a glee to her voice that made Shaw want to kiss and strangle her.

"Yes Root, just get here." She said before hanging up and going back out to the classroom to find all the kids loudly talking, playing cards, drawing, and generally just showing no self awareness at all.

She marched over to her desk and was already reaching into her bag for her weapon when the bell rang to signal the end of class. Shaw still double checked that it was loaded as the kids filed out of the room. She clinched her eyes shut, it was as if they were trying to be as loud as possible as they shuffled out the door. The next class came in and after five minutes the bell rang. Shaw didnt even try talking and instead just sat there as the kids ignored her existence completely while they talked or napped. Fifteen minutes later Root came sauntering into the room dressed in a casual grey sweater, fitted black pants, with flats while her hair was in a messy bun and the look completed with her glasses. Just as Shaw thought, she had woken her up and she had come straight over. It was a good look for her though Shaw noted.

"Gee, this really makes you fear for the future of mankind doesnt it?" Root said with wide eyes as she looked at two girls doing one another makeup and talking about how many kids they wanted.

"Oh, so true. What is your cover?" Shaw said raising her eyebrows.

"Came in as a guest lecturer for the regular teacher, they said it would probably be a relief for the sub to hear. So whats the game plan?" Root said leaning on the desk.

"The number is in the classroom across the hall-" Shaw started before she saw Root shaking her head.

"Not for him. Them." She said nodding to the kids.

"No fucking idea. Gas them?" Shaw said with a smirk as Root smiled at her.

"Ok, I got this." Root said as she reached into the messenger bag she had over her shoulder and pulled out a air horn which she held up in the air and set off.

Once all the kids were looking up at them she stood in front of them as she cocked her head to the side with a mischievous smile. She stuck the air horn back in her bag and tossed the bag back onto the desk in front of Shaw. Before sliding up to sit on the desk as she casually smiled at the questioning kids.

"The future of America...so, lets teach you guys something that might actually be useful. Who wants to learn how to hack into school system?" Root asked with a excited smile as her legs swung over the desk.

The kids looked at her in disbelief as they looked both intrigued and confused. A couple raised their hands as Root looked back at Shaw with a wink before reaching over and pulling her laptop from her backpack. Shaw looked at her with a raised brow as she shook her head at Root's grin.

"Ok, gather around kids." Root said as she hooked up the overhead projector to her laptop.

Shaw got up and turned off the overhead lights so the kids could see as they all watched in deep interest. She slipped out the door discreetly so she could go snoop around in the staff files for the number. When she got back to classroom Root was just finishing up answering questions as the kids laughed at one of her jokes. As the bell rang the kids started packing their things.

"Remember kids, always follow your talents. Whatever they may be." Root said with a mischievous smile as the kids actually said goodbye to her.

"So inspirational." Shaw said with smirk as she came to lean next to Root by the desk.

"Hmm well at least they learned something in their high school careers." The hacker said with a satisfied smile.

"I got into the personnel files using a computer in a empty classroom. Nothing earth shattering there, did have one write up about a disagreement that came to blows with another teacher earlier this year. Didnt seem relevant though." The smaller woman said with a sigh as she checked the time and letting out a relieved noise when she realized it was lunch.

"Maybe you should go introduce yourself." Root suggested as she smiled at Shaw who was busy ripping into the lunch she had in her bag.

"Well you are my visiting lecturer so maybe you should do that. I am just a lowly sub after all." Shaw said through a mouth full of sandwich.

"I tamed the beast, so its your turn. I'll tell you what though I will go with you and hijack his phone." Root said as she pulled a bug out of her bag.

"Fine. I am finishing eating first though." Shaw grumbled.

"So, I was thinking about what you said earlier and I am thinking we should go with a blue." The hacker said happily as she came around and sat up on the desk in front of Shaw.

"What are you talking about?" The grumpy agent said taking another huge bite of food.

"Painting the apartment." She said with a obvious tone.

"No, no. I didnt mean that." She said waving her hand up.

"Oh no Sam, you do not get to back out of this again." Root said with a warning tone.

"Fine. Pick whatever color you want, I dont care." Shaw grumbled.

"Fine." The taller woman said with eye roll as she stood up impatiently.

The pair went next door and met the number. He was a quiet old man who taught English and seemed more annoyed at the interruption than anything else. Root cloned the phone under his desk when she rudely made herself at home at his desk. The rest of the day went by without much problem. Root entertained the classes and Shaw listened in to the numbers phone feed. Once the day ended the principal showed up at the classroom with security demanding to see ID for both of them as they had found the kids in their classes hacking into the school system all over campus. Despite showing their fake ID's both of them were escorted off campus with the promise of never being able to work at a school again to which Shaw said thank God.

"Does She have the numbers home address?" Shaw asked as she started the car.

"32 NE 88th St." Root said as she listened to Machine.

"I would rather have a grey than blue." Shaw finally said as they drove in near silence.

"Hmm?" Root said as she looked over to her having been listening to the Machine in her ear.

"The apartment. I would rather have grey." The smaller agent said.

"Sounds perfect." Root gleamed as she leaned her head against the rest with a small smile.

"We arent cutting any edges like you tried with the bathroom sink." Shaw warned.

"Whatever you say sweetie." The hacker said with a smirk at the memory of their last project.

Once they got to the teachers home they found the car of the teacher the number had been fighting with down the street. The Machine warned Root and it only took a moment for them to rush into action. They found the number being beaten in his home when Shaw tackled him. It had all been over a football players grade in the numbers class and the coach being furious at him for the player not being able to be played. A straight forward number as they go, which really had just bored both the women but they did appreciate a job done.


	18. Chapter 18

I am so sorry for the long wait. Hopefully there are still a few readers. Sorry for any mistakes.

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"Root!" Shaw yelled angrily as the hacker dripped paint all over her shoulder.

"You walked under me!" Root argued back with a small shrug from her position on the step ladder.

"Thats it, switch places with me." The smaller woman demanded.

"We tried that. You are too short to reach the edging and there was that incident with your pants." Root said with a smirk as she turned back to her job.

"The incident where you smacked my ass with paint covered hands." She grumbled as she rolled up the oversized button up shirt she was wearing and tried to wipe the paint splatter from her cheek only succeeding in smearing it.

As she walked back by Root, the hacker smirked at the paint hand print she had made on Shaw's pants earlier. She was enjoying herself far more than she should've been. Shaw for her part was ready to strangle Root. The hacker had been giving her a hard time all day and Shaw for her part had been taking it in stride. Truth be told she was so used to the other woman and her antics she was not even that bothered by it anymore.

"Why does this part of the wall feel hollow?" Root pondered out loud as she ran her hand over one part of the wall that felt slightly different than the rest.

"Weapons supply." Shaw said after a moment of thought.

"What kind of weapons?" The taller woman asked her eyes gleaming at the thought.

Shaw tilted her head in thought as she absentmindedly painted the bottom edge. She had done that a while ago and wasnt entirely sure if she had put the semi automatic or a simple colt in there. She told Root as much which made Root smirk in appreciation at her girlfriend. She gave the wall one final pat before running the paint roller over it carefully. Shaw's phone started going off which made her groan as she tossed her brush down and stood up stalking over to the counter where she hoped she had tossed it. She dug underneath the mail Root had tossed there throughout the week and finally found the device.

"What?" Shaw said as she answered the phone.

Shaw listened intently as Finch went on about a urgent matter. Root had stopped what she was doing to look over at the smaller woman in curiosity. She raised an eyebrow at the other woman in curiosity but her face quickly changed to her own look of intensity as she listened to the Machine. Shaw saw it and knew that they were getting the same information as Root smirked and she rolled her eyes. Shaw hung up her phone and leaned against the counter as Root sauntered over with a smile.

"So, you ready for another adventure together?" Root asked leaning next to Shaw closely.

"Well at least this time I will be used to you moving around in your sleep." Shaw said leaning a little closer to Root while keeping her arms crossed.

"You dont get sea sick do you sweetie?" The hacker teased as she moved to stand in front of Shaw, placing her hands on the counter on either side of her.

"I guess we will find out." She whispered as she leaned up slightly to meet Root in a kiss.

Root smiled as she felt Shaw pull on her hips as she deepened the kiss. They were supposed to leave in the evening the next day for a mission on a ship for the next month. There was arms smuggling going on and was taking place under the guise of a cruise ship of all things. Root and Shaw were to go on as passengers and try to figure out how the network was operating. They ran all along from the US to Northern Africa to South America.

"I guess we should pack." Root said as they finally broke away from their embrace.

"Hmm that can wait." Shaw said as she pushed Root toward the bedroom with a smirk.

"Sounds good to me." The hacker said breathlessly.

A hour later they had cleaned up their painting mess and then started packing for the trip. Root was sitting on the bed carefully folding the clothes Shaw had tossed on the bed for her to pack. She was so tempted just to shove them in the suitcase but new the smaller woman would have a fit about it later. Shaw had moved on to weapons as she took apart each piece and carefully packed them in the lining of their second bag.

"Finch better have sprung for a nice room." Shaw grumbled.

"He got us separate rooms." Root said absentmindedly as she struggled to fold a shirt.

"What?" Shaw said clearly irritated as she looked at Root.

"Supposed to make it easier for us not to draw attention. They are adjoining though." The hacker said as she finally got the shirt folded and looked up at Shaw with a smile before noticing her girlfriend was angry.

"I dont even get to be with you on this fucking cruise." The smaller agent said in irritation to herself.

Root smiled sadly at her as she leaned forward up on her knees and she reached out to take Shaws arm. Shaw rolled her eyes but let her herself be pulled close to the bed as Root scooted to the edge. The taller woman reached up and ran her hand along Shaw's neck before resting it behind her neck. Shaw looked at her seriously but reached her own hands on Roots hips.

"Think of it as a little break from all the things I do to annoy you. Like tossing clean laundry in the drawer, leaving wet towels around, getting blood on the couch, falling asleep with the tv on, rearranging your weapons-" Root got cut off at the last comment.

"You said that Reese did that." Shaw said with a glare, squeezing Roots hips tightly.

"Your arrangement didnt make any sense." The hacker teased.

"I was ready to kill him, I tortured him for weeks during missions." Shaw said angrily as Root just laughed.

"You see, you will get a break from all of that. Plus we will only be a door away from one another." Root said leaning in and kissing Shaw just to the side of her mouth.

"You are so annoying." Shaw whispered with a small smirk as she moved to capture Roots mouth completely.

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The cruise ship was enormous, it was long and narrow almost looking like a renovated cargo ship. Neither of the women had much experience on ships especially Root who had only been out on the water once on a much smaller boat. They had to board separately as they were supposed to be strangers to one another. Root boarded first and was pleasantly surprised at the room as she walked in. The room was older fashioned, with all wood furniture that was stained a deep auburn color. The floor was a deep red carpet as well. It wasnt very large but had a good sized bed with a huge wardrobe and dresser. There was a small flat screen tv on top of the dresser in front of the bed. The bathroom was a pearl white color with ceramic tiles on the floor, a large bathtub built into the floor in the corner and a tall wooden cabinet.

Root tossed her suitcase by the bed and elegantly fell back onto the bed with a sigh. By the time they had gotten boarded on the ship and shown to their rooms it was already getting late into the evening. Neither of them had slept much the night before so she hadnt meant to fall asleep but quickly did and didnt even hear Shaw come in through the adjoining door from her own room. The smaller looked at her sleeping girlfriend and rolled her eyes. She had already unpacked all of her own things and really wasnt surprised to see that Root hadnt done the same. She walked over to the bed and decided to just let Root sleep as she sat down next to her lanky form. She carefully took Roots shoes off before sliding her legs further onto the bed. Root let out an appreciative hum in her sleep as she curled on her side towards Shaw.

Shaw looked down at Root fast asleep and decided to lay down herself. She still wasnt great at knowing about how to be intimate but she did like being close to the other woman. So she stretched out beside Root, stretching out on her back as she tossed one of her arms over her eyes. Root in her usual fashion moved closer to her in her sleep as she pressed herself along Shaw's side. Shaw grumbled but went along with it as she rolled on her own side and let Root spoon her. Root wrapped her long arm Shaw's stomach and the smaller woman laid her arm over Root's letting her hand rest on top of the hackers. That was how they spent their first night on the cruise knowing the next day their mission would have to get started.


	19. Chapter 19

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Root woke up very early in the morning to find herself holding Shaw. She wasnt all that surprised as this was normal at home. The hacker gently removed her hand from Shaw's and scooted over so she could stretch out her body. She tried to blink the tiredness from her eyes and glanced over to the clock on the nightstand. She groaned internally as she realized it was 3 in the morning but knew she wouldnt be going back to sleep. Easing herself into a sitting position she looked beside her at Shaw debating what to do. Shaw was a very light sleeper and she knew if she tried to turn on the tv or got out her computer the smaller woman would be up in a instant.

"I can hear you thinking." Shaw grumbled as she rolled over with a irritated look.

"Did I wake you up?" She asked with a tired smile as watched her fondly.

"I thought you were having a nightmare." The small woman said reaching her hand out but stopping short of touching the hacker.

Root looked at her so lovingly as she watched Shaw let her arm fall over her eyes. It always made her feel such a strong pull toward the other woman when she would say things like this. To anyone else they would seem like everyday statements that didnt denote any real intimacy but for Root they felt like Shaw confessing her true feelings. Shaw let out a little grunt as she sat up next as well and glanced back at the clock.

"We should get started." Shaw said standing up and stretching.

"She said we should start down in the cargo bay and try to access the manifest." The lanky woman said listening intently to the Machine in her ear.

"She cant find it?" Shaw grumbled as she wandered into the bathroom.

"Only for the cruise, they probably have the weapons dealing on a private drive or hardcopy." Root said climbing off the bed and moving over to her suitcase.

Root assembled her gun as Shaw came back out to see her slipping it in the back of her pants waistband. Smirking at her Shaw walked over as Root handed her a second gun she had packed which Shaw immediately checked before securing it at the small of her back as well. The hacker slipped her computer bag over her head and slid the messenger bag behind her. Lastly she handed Shaw a bluetooth device which she slipped in her ear so they could stay in contact.

"How do you want to play it?" Root asked tilting her head to the side.

"The Machine giving you anything on what we should expect in terms of weaponry?" Shaw asked looking at her girlfriend as she got that look on her face.

"No access to anything in the cargo bay but getting down there all entrances are guarded. East D deck has the least." Root said with a shrug.

"Want to play drunkin tourists?" Shaw asked seriously.

"Role play huh? I didnt know you were into that kind of kink sweetie." The hacker said with a smirk as Shaw rolled her eyes and started toward her own room.

"We cant leave at the same time. Ill meet you over there." She said with a pointed look which Root just smiled at.

Root slipped out of her room and headed out to the deck walking lazily and without any detectable purpose. The all night bar and grill was open not far from their quarters so she wandered in there getting a shot which she took immediately so she would have it on her breath and then ordering a vodka cranberry which she wandered outside with. This early in the morning no one was going to say anything about her out with it. She started toward the D deck which was a little ways from their rooms.

Once she got over to D deck she had sipped most of her drink and was feeling a pleasant warmth but was by no means even tipsy. She leaned against the railing and looked out at the stars over the water with a small smile. It was surprisingly cold out and only a few other people were out mostly just those trying to get back to their cabins after being out having a good time. She felt Shaw walk up next to her with her own empty drink in hand, gin and tonic Root guessed. Shaw looked at her with smile that Root knew to be her acting one, it didnt reach her eyes.

"You going to jump?" Shaw asked in a low tone as she leaned on the railing next to Root looking out at the water.

"You trying to recreate Titanic here sweetie?" Root said with a small whimsical laugh.

"Fuck that. Your stupid ass throws herself over I am just going to watch." The dark eyed woman said with a scoff.

"I never really cared for the you jump, I jump thing anyways. So self important." The taller woman said with an eye roll to emphasis her point.

"Says the woman who has gone in singlehandedly to a Samaritan base." Shaw complained with a pointed look.

"Oh, like I am the only one. You want to compare some notes on self sacrificing behavior?" The hacker teased with a chuckle.

"We can compare scars later." The dark haired woman said with her own smirk as she finished off the last of her drink.

"Hmm does that mean we will be sleeping in the same bed?" Root asked leaning close to whisper in the shorter woman's ear unnecessarily.

Shaw glanced at her with a small smile on her lips as she shook her head gently at Root. Glancing down at the hackers mouth she leaned in capturing Root's mouth against her own. The hacker pulled away from the railing without breaking the kiss as she pulled at Shaw's waist to get her to turn completely flush against her body. Shaw grunted and grabbed at Root's ass pulling her impossibly close. They both pulled away slightly as Root gestured toward the entranceway behind them. Shaw grabbed Root's hand and pulled her toward it. It really would look like two drunk tourists trying to find a place to hook up to anyone who didnt know better as the two stumbled into the hallway.

Shaw pushed Root up against the wall as they kissed roughly. It quickly caught the guards attention toward the end of the hall looking like rent a cops but were actually very well trained militia. One of the men nudged the other as he gestured toward the two woman pawing at one another at the end of the long hall. The other man smirked as they took their time walking down to confront them clearly enjoying the view. Both women knew the two men were very aware of them and made sure to look extra sloppy to pull off appearing drunk.

"Excuse me ladies." One of the guards said with a hint of creepiness in his tone.

"Ladies." The other one said more forcefully as they ignored the first man.

They finally pulled apart at that as they leaned their foreheads together for a moment giggling drunkly. Root glanced over at the men as Shaw pretended to fall into her, burying her head against Root's chest. Root wrapped her arms around Shaw's small form both playing their parts very well although if someone looked closely they would see Shaw's hand going under Root's shirt to grasp the weapon tucked there.

"Sorry boys, this is a private party." Root slurred out leaning against the wall with Shaw still in her arms laughing falsely.

"Shame, shame...but uh, we actually need you to take this back to your room. This is a restricted area." The man said as he looked Shaw up and down before settling on Root's face.

"Oh! So, so sorry. We didnt know." Root said very apologetically as Shaw stood up with a stumble.

"It's fine miss, and as much as it really pains me to say, you better take it someplace else." The other guard said reaching out to help steady Shaw who pretended to stumble.

Before the two men knew what hit them, Shaw had expertly brought the end of the gun she had gotten from Root down on one of their heads while Root pulled out her trusty taser from her bag. Once both men were down they quickly moved them into a storage room Shaw found further down the hall.

"Wait a second. Let me just give them a little something to help them forget this." Root said with a smirk as she dug in her bag and got out a syringe of something before injecting both of them.

"Do I even want to know?" Shaw asked with a sigh.

"They will be fine. Just feel like one hell of a hangover and wont remember a thing." The hacker said proudly.

Shaw looked at Root with a strange tinge of something like being proud. She admired the other woman which was something very foreign to her. They had gotten to the point where they could read one another perfectly. It made them a very good team although they always had been. Even Finch couldnt argue with them as a team, they always delivered results if usually an a rather unorthodox way. Root smiled at Shaw before they took off down to the cargo area.

It was a large open area full of crates and other oddly shaped containers with offices along the wall. There were about eight or nine men in clear sight which meant there were probably more out of sight. Root and Shaw were ducked down at the top of one set of stairs as they looked around the room. Root listened as the Machine listed off the most likely rooms for any type of computer systems based on the schematics of the ship. Root nudged Shaw as they slowly descended down the stairs before crouching down at the bottom behind a shipment container.

The cargo bay really was massive and it took them careful timing to avoid being seen as they moved behind containers toward a large office space toward the middle of the room. It certainly looked like the most important room and unfortunately also the most busy. After treading carefully to the room Root and Shaw paused outside looking at it carefully to see if they could find a way in. They watched for several minutes until there finally seemed to be a shift change as the men inside the room walked out causally. That also meant that their friends they had knocked out before were going to be discovered soon. With that thought they quickly made their way into the room.

"Two minutes Root." Shaw warned as she kept lookout.

Root looked intently at the computer she was kneeled down in front of. She was less than impressed at the old relic of a computer but she had to give them points, this would be impossible to access from the outside. She quickly hooked up a wireless connection using a router that would link directly to her computer. This would at least allow her to access the information from another part of the ship. Once she confirmed the connection she concealed her work the best she could.

"Time to go." Shaw said seriously.

"Got it." Root said as she quickly joined Shaw in slipping out of the room just as two people walked in carrying coffee and luckily preoccupied in conversation.

Root took over leading them back across the room taking the first set of stairs back up which happened to be to the C deck. Once they got up to the deck the sun was just coming up and they slipped casually into the hustle of the morning people which consisted mostly of old couples power walking. They were on the A deck stacked further up along the ship. It took them several minutes to get back to their deck and then maneuver to their rooms. They held hands the entire time as they talked about whatever came to mind. Looking like a happy couple on a morning walk together as they finally were able to slip back into Root's room where they immediately dropped the others hand neither being fond of that paticular sign of affection.

"The Machine hear anything about intruders?" Shaw asked as Root set up her own computer to finish the uplink to the computer she had just hacked.

"Those two guards are being reprimanded for falling asleep on the job, other than that its quiet. No sign of anything on the few security cameras they actually have." Root said smugly.

"So now what?" Shaw asked as she slumped down on the bed.

"Now I do my thing." The hacker said with a gleam in her eye as she began her work on her computer.

Shaw rolled her eyes but kept quiet as Root worked only turning on the TV to keep herself occupied. After a few moments she started pulling out the weapons in Root's bag and cleaning the guns carefully. She was happy to have busy hands while she listened to Root mumble information out loud as she worked. She wasnt sure if it was meant for her or the Machine but she found it comforting regardless. This was how they spent their first day on the cruise as they had several conferences with Finch who Root was relaying information to.


	20. Chapter 20

So sorry for the wait. I went through a break up and didn't exactly feel like writing about these two.

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Root and Shaw were out on the ship later that night as they waited for Finch to do some investigating on the state side. The two of them were feeling restless so the hacker finally bribed Shaw to go out and explore the ship in the evening. Mostly Shaw was just really hungry as they went straight to the bar and grill near their area of the ship. Shaw eagerly ate her steak as Root grazed on a salad more interested in sipping her drink than eating.

"I always thought the food was supposed to suck on cruises." Shaw said before taking a big gulp of her beer.

"It takes so little to make you happy." Root said fondly as she leaned back in her seat with her drink in hand to look at Shaw fondly.

"I still dont see the appeal of these things." The smaller woman grumbled as she took a rather aggressive bite of her food.

"Oh, well dont look now but I think karaoke is about to start." The hacker said with a gleam in her eye as she nodded toward a stage on the other side of the room.

Shaw got a murderous look on her face as she looked over her shoulder at what was being setup. She looked back at Root with a glare as she grabbed her drink and finished off the last of it. Root quickly said she would get them another drink as she got up from the table with a smirk. Shaw rolled her eyes but wasnt going to pass up on more alcohol. Root was gone for several minutes at which point she returned with more drinks.

"I got you something a little stronger." Root said sweetly as she placed a drink in front of Shaw who eyed it suspiciously but took it regardless.

"Jesus, is that straight." Shaw said almost happily after taking a large gulp.

"Hmm thought you'd enjoy that." Root said with a satisfied smirk.

After yet another drink Shaw was starting to feel it hitting her as she sat there full from steak and working on her fifth strong drink of the night. The karaoke had just gotten started and was already getting on her nerves but Root insisted they stay to give the appearance of being tourists. Root for her part was still only on her second drink which were considerably less strong than Shaw's. Little did the smaller agent know, the hacker had other ideas for entertainment tonight as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for our next performer, we have Sameen S. to the stage with You Make My Dreams Come True!" The announcer said excitedly.

"You didnt." Shaw seethed.

"Oh but I did sweetie. Best not make a scene. People are watching." Root said with a gleam in her eyes.

"I am not going up there." The fiery woman said firmly.

"She is right over here everyone. Lets give her some encouragement." Root said standing up and drawing everyones attention.

"I will kill you where you stand Root." Shaw said through gritted teeth as everyone started offering words of encouragement.

"Come on little lady, dont be shy." The man with the microphone said walking towards their table.

Shaw considered her options momentarily. Leaving would draw unwanted attention and she was much more drunk than she would care to admit. So she gulped the rest of her drink and stood up with a murderous smile in Root's direction. She grabbed the hackers arm firmly as she turned around.

"This will actually be a duet." Shaw said with the most forced smile you could imagine as she pulled Root close.

"Alright, we have a duet now. Lets see what you got ladies." The announcer said ushering them towards the stage as Shaw kept her death grip on Root's arm.

"You will pay dearly for this later." Shaw whispered to Root as they got up on the stage.

"I look forward to it." Root said though her tone lacked its usual perkiness.

The music started as each of them grasped a microphone in their hand. Root was smirking now as she gently swayed to the music, meanwhile Shaw was death gripping hers as she glared hard at the screen not moving at all. As the lyrics popped up on screen Root owned it as she started singing along confidently. Shaw glared hard at her but didnt say a word, when the second persons part came up Shaw mumbled through. Root moved closer to her during her part and did a little spin around the shorter woman. Shaw finally couldnt take it and stuck out her foot discreetly sending Root nearly falling off the stage. Root recovered quickly before giving Shaw a smirk as the few people actually paying attention to the performance looked completely confused.

The song finally came to an end with Shaw having barely sang one word and two almost near falls for Root. Both the women were smirking as they got off the stage, Shaw a little less steady than Root. A few claps were heard as the announcer gave a uncomfortable thank you to them. As they were leaving Root actually saw Shaw laugh as she almost tripped over a chair. The hacker smiled as she grabbed hold of her arm and they walked out into the cool air of the night.

"If I werent so drunk right now I would kill you." Shaw said but with a smile plastered on her face.

"And be left alone with all the cruise people?" Root teased as she got them to lean against the railing overlooking the water.

"You make a good point. There is something wrong with these people." Shaw grumbled with a small shake of her head.

"Hmm not everyone can be you sweetie, thankfully." The hacker said fondly as she looked at her drunk girlfriend who was watching the water calmly.

"And what was with that song selection?" Shaw asked with a smirk as she glanced over at her girlfriend.

"Well I almost went with My Heart Will Go On but I thought you might actually riot on that one." Root said with a little laugh.

"Someone would be dead. Probably that announcer dude." She said with a knowing nod.

"I was kind of surprised he didnt end up with your steak knife in his leg when he called you little lady." The hacker said.

Shaw looked at Root carefully, the hacker had really pissed her off but now she felt like kissing her. This type of turn about was not something Shaw was at all familiar with. She tried to dismiss it as the alcohol clouding her mind. She knew if it werent the fact that it was Root she would have marched out of that room earlier or just broken someones arm. It was that it was Sam Groves who she found herself attached to in her own way. She couldnt call it love because she really wasnt capable of understanding that but it was something special to them. Something that linked them to one another and made Shaw want to be near the other woman.

"So did I just ruin my chances on sharing a bed tonight?" Root asked with a shy smirk as she looked down at her hands as they played with the edge of Shaw's shirt.

"Maybe I havent decided yet." Shaw said breathlessly as she tried to keep a hard expression on her face.

"What if I promise I will do whatever I need to to make it up to you?" The hacker said looking into Shaw's eyes.

Shaw looked in her eyes closely before glancing down to the other womans lips. Root took that as an invitation to lean down and capture her mouth in a kiss. Shaw kissed back but kept her hands loosely to her side until Root tugged her close by the front of her shirt. Grabbing the hackers hips she finally parted her lips gently to allow Root access to deepen the kiss. Root's hands found their way under Shaw's shirt and on her back as she pressed her fingers into the soft skin. The reaction from Shaw was immediate as she kissed Root more frantically before finally pulling away as she kept her grip on Root.

"Make it up to me." Shaw said as a order that came out in more of a whisper her dark eyes watching Root closely.

Root smirked but wisely kept her mouth shut as she pulled away and started walking back toward their rooms. Shaw watched her hips sway before following along, the smallest of smiles tugging at the side of her mouth. The things this woman did to her would never stop amazing her for all of what would probably be a short life with their line of work. It was more than worth it now as she looked at her life before her.


End file.
